A 'staged' Meeting

by RyuNoMe24

Miku finds a strange note of coordinates tucked between the pages of an old library book. She checks to see that the book was borrowed only once not too long ago by a person named Megurine Luka. (Rating for the occasional strong language)

A/N: This story was written for the Negitoro Summer Smash 2020 as an (a teeny tiny bit late) entry. It was a prompt done by Dakimomoe and it went as follows: "Miku finds a strange note of coordinates tucked between the pages of an old library book. She checks to see that the book was borrowed only once not too long ago by a person named Megurine Luka."

Enjoy :)

---

Miku is standing in the history section of the library, looking over title after title, with nothing catching her eye, when Rin approaches her from behind.

"Since when are you interested in castles?"

Miku turns around and scoffs at her, "I told you already, I'm not, but I have to write that report and hold that lesson about the most well-known castles in our country. That's why we're here in the first place, remember?" She shifts her attention back to the shelf to continue her search.

Miku is in a college of education, aiming to become a teacher and one of her current subjects is history. The medieval age and its castles, to be more precise. To learn how to address high schoolers and teach them in a way that is fun and engaging for them, all the participants of the class were assigned a topic to write a report and hold a lesson about it.

"Don't say I didn't warn you that history is like the most boring thing ever."

"Not all of it. And it's still one of the easiest subjects to complete," Miku retorts, while still flying over book titles. "Ah, this could be a good one."

Tentatively tilting a book on the upper shelves, Miku lets it fall into her hand to open it up and thumbs through it.

"Wow, and you couldn't have chosen an older one? Are the pages torn? Or falling out already? Can you even read the old tongue?" Rin says cheekily; she never misses a chance to tease her blue-haired friend.

"Shut up. At least I'm still reading books, unlike someone who can't get off her phone most of the time."

"Hey, if fanfiction existed as books, I would absolutely buy them, you know."

"Right. And what's next? Fanfictions are culture just like history books?"

"Absolutely!"

Miku crooks an eyebrow at her, and after a few short moments of silence they break out in giggles.

"Seriously though, you should really put that phone down from time to time."

"Yes, mom." Rin rolls her eyes and turns her back to the teal-haired girl to return to the table she was sitting at before she decided to bother her friend, but was halted halfway there when she heard a quiet, surprised "What is that?" from Miku.

"What is it?" she asks, coming closer again to keep her voice low.

"There's a post-it in here with some numbers written on it. Looks like coordinates."

"Who would leave something like that in a random book in the library?"

"How would I know? Maybe they forgot, or it slipped into the book by accident." Miku flips all the pages to reach the back of the book and the list of people who borrowed it. "Seems like there's only been one person who borrowed it up until now, called Luka Megurine. And it was just two weeks ago."

"Wow, someone actually borrowed this door-stopper of a book? I assumed it would have been a librarian who left that note, I didn't think someone would be as crazy as you are."

Miku sends Rin a glare before going on, "I wonder why she left this note. Did she expect someone to just run up to those coordinates and see if something is there?"

"Well why don't you just go and ask her? I am sure you would find her address on the internet."

"What, just strut up to her house and ask her 'Hey, you left this note in this random book in the library, did you want someone to go there?' just for her to have no idea what the hell I am talking about, call me a weirdo, shutting the door in my face and going ahead to tell her friends what a weird person I am?"

"That… was an awfully specific scenario, but yes, just like that. Except for the part where you become the mockery of all her friends."

"Oh god, no, I'd rather visit those coordinates before doing that."

"Well, let's do that then."

"But what if it's something dangerous or illegal or something like that?"

"Oh my god, Miku, stop fucking around, either you do something or you don't. You know what, just give me those coordinates, we're going there now." Rin makes an attempt to snatch the book out of Miku's hands, but fails to do so as Miku dodges.

"Wait, what about my assignment?" the teacher in training asks frantically.

"I know you well enough to know that you've still got about four weeks to do this, so come on, let's do this," Rin shoots back and makes another shot at grabbing the book. She succeeds this time and turns away from Miku to keep the book in her possession. Swiftly removing the post-it from the book, she shoves the book back into Miku's hands to grab her phone and type in the coordinates.

By now, Miku has given up her attempts at stopping Rin because when she sets her mind on something, it's hard to stop her. So, resigning to her fate, Miku peeks over Rin's shoulder and waits for her to find the coordinates.

"Ah, there it is," Rin says as she zooms in on the location pin on the map on her phone. "Oh, that's the castle on the hill just a few villages away. That would not even be much of a journey. What do you think, should we go right now?"

With a skeptical gaze, Miku answers, "You are not going to give in if I say no, are you?"

"Correct."

And with a sigh, hoping to get this behind her quickly, the defeated girl responds, "Fine, let's get it over with."

---

It's on the same day, early afternoon when the duo finds itself at the coordinates they found in the book. The location turned out not to be the castle itself, but a few dozen metres downhill next to a path in the forest surrounding the castle.

Not wanting to waste any time, they go for the coordinates right away. They are led a few metres away from the forest path they were on, up a slope, to come across a small cave in the stone wall, hidden away in between trees and bushes. It's not more than two and a half metres high, just wide enough to fit one person in it, but with rocks and boulders sticking out from the sides, making it impossible to walk normally inside the cave. The stone walls emit cool air into and out of the cave, offering a slight relief from the warm summer sun.

Rin, still with her phone in hand and the coordinates opened on the screen, speaks up, "I don't know what we are looking for and what we should expect, but this cave looks suspicious. What do you think, Miku?"

The mentioned girl walks up next to Rin and peeks into the cave. "Creepy is what I think. But, we are standing right on top of these coordinates. Let's look inside." She takes out her own phone to activate the flashlight and illuminate the cave. Lo and behold, on the far end of the cave, about seven metres inside, a small tube, no longer than a hand and about as thick as a finger, hangs from the ceiling on a string.

"There's something hanging from the ceiling in there, maybe that's what we are supposed to find."

"Really? Show me!" Rin sidles up next to Miku and gazes into the cave as well. "You're right! That's got to be it. Come on, go get it, I want to know what it is."

"What? Why me?"

"You're the one who found the post-it, so you're also the one who is supposed to find that… thing, whatever it is."

"Hmpf, fine, I'll get it. Should not be too hard."

Miku would not admit it outright to her friend, as it would definitely earn her a good amount of teasing, but she is excited to find out what this "Luka" left there and why she would do that.

So, gathering her courage (because damn, that cave still looks creepy), Miku lowers herself to the ground, enters the cave and proceeds to bend her legs around the first boulder in her way. To properly balance herself, she sits down on her bottom, holds herself upright with a hand on the ground behind her, while still holding her phone in her other hand to keep the cave lit up.

Now, when the would-be cave explorer entered the cave in her loot lust, she did not take the time to properly investigate the cave. So, when she holds her phone a bit more towards where the treasure is fixated, she pauses in her advances at what she sees. Spiders. Lots of them. Not just that. But their nests too. Those little white balls, made out of disgusting sticky strings hanging from the ceiling.

Technically, this would not have made the task any harder for Miku. But, you see, she's not exactly fond of spiders. Quite the contrary. Since she was young, spiders always scared the living daylights out of her. Even though those spiders in the cave are definitely not dangerous in the slightest, Miku can't stop herself from pointing her flashlight further upwards to investigate the whole ceiling. Sure enough, the spiders don't stop. The complete ceiling is covered with spiders, all the way to the entrance, including the spot right above Miku's head.

Again, this might not have made the task any harder for the girl. But young and scared of spiders Miku can't stop her brain from imagining the spiders letting go from the ceiling and dropping down on her and crawling all over her with their disgusting fuzzy little legs and doing whatever spiders do to terrorize their target.

The terrified girl's face pales in the span of a second and she lets out a scream. Still on her back, she backpedals and tries to leave the cave as fast as she can. In her stress, she trips over her supporting arm twice, meeting the ground. After what, to Miku, feels like at least a few dozen metres, she finally reaches the open air, immediately standing up and taking multiple steps away from the cursed cave.

Her heart is still racing, her lungs are heaving for air and her brain, her stupid imaginative brain, is running simulations of how this situation could have turned out with her buried below multiple thousand spiders. Due to that, she doesn't hear the voice calling out to her or register Rin stepping into her field of view. Only when she feels a hand settle itself on her back, does Miku look up and into her blonde friend's eyes.

Only after a few more moments of Rin talking to her, does Miku properly understand a few whole sentences. "It's fine, Miku. Breathe. Take slow, deep breaths. Take it easy."

It takes her another two minutes before she can conjure up a few words to answer Rin's inquiry of what happened to her.

"Spiders," she chokes out. "The whole ceiling. Filled. With their horrific white ball nest things."

Rin tries her hardest, she really does, but she can't keep it in. She bursts out laughing. Hard. Wheezing, she gasps, "Spi–spiders! I know you don't like them, but–but to react like this? Oh my god, Miku!" And she laughs some more, very much to Miku's chagrin.

After five minutes of Miku stewing in her own shame and embarrassment and Rin laughing about it, they finally calm down to hold a civil conversation again.

Rin starts it by right out challenging her friend, "Okay, tell you what, I am going to give you a chance. I will sit down over here and finish reading that chapter I couldn't finish before we left. I'm guessing around five to ten minutes until I am done. If you go in there during that time to get that damned treasure," she made air quotes while saying 'treasure', "I will give you 50 bucks, right here, in cash. If you don't get it, I will and you get nothing out of it."

She proceeds to do exactly what she said, choosing a tree to sit under and lean against, pulling out her phone to open up her browser with a fanfiction page. Probably about one of those anime Rin was obsessing over lately. But Miku couldn't care less at the moment. She's got far bigger problems to worry about. Namely, one cave with 50 bucks and a promise of something more, something unknown smiling at her from its depths. And thousands (not really) of spiders blocking (also not really) her way to that reward.

And with that starts the longest five minutes of Miku's life. Never has she ever found herself in such a dilemma. The reward should really be enough incentive for her to enter the cave again, but the spiders. She would probably also feel really proud of herself afterwards, but the spiders! They definitely couldn't hurt her, they would be nothing more than a little tickle, probably also hoping beyond hope that this big mean predator entering their home would just leave them alone, but just the thought. The thought of them crawling over her. Maybe hiding away somewhere in the crevices of her clothing, just to shock her again when she undresses. It's too much. She can't do it.

Look at her; a grown-ass woman, having faced so many challenges already and yet she's scared of a few little spiders. After all, she's come out to her parents and all her closest friends and that had been scary as hell, so why should those tiny animals, smaller than her finger even, animals that can't even hurt her for god's sake, be scarier than that?

It can't, simple as that. No more cowering in fear. No more backing out of it. No more searching excuses not to do it. She's a strong independent woman and she can pass by a few spiders to get those fifty bucks and the treasure! She'd go in there, get the treasure, reap her bonus rewards and be the one to laugh into her so-called best friend's face afterwards!

And just when she finally finds her resolve and musters up all the courage she can find, Rin stands in front of her again. "You know, I'd love to say I'm disappointed, but it's hard to be disappointed when you don't have any expectations at all." She holds up her hand with a small tube in it. That must be the treasure that was hanging in the cave.

"But… I was just about to go in…" Miku half says, half whimpers.

"Sure you were. You know, I am happy you didn't go in there, those fifty bucks are in my budget for this month's expenses. That would have hurt. Anyway, let's look at what this was all about."

While Rin goes about opening the small container, Miku still tries to find out how exactly she wasted ten minutes thinking about how to conquer her fears, all the while not noticing that Rin was doing exactly what Miku was contemplating on doing.

"Earth to Miku, are you in there? Ah, you're back. Did you enjoy dreamland?" The question was not really meant seriously and Miku lets her know that she does not appreciate the teasing by throwing out her fiercest glare.

"Okay, message received. I wanted to at least let you read the letter in there, so you'll get something out of it." She goes ahead to pull the rolled up letter out of the tube and passes it to Miku.

Said girl is still annoyed, but appreciates the thought. She begins to read out loud.

Hello adventurer

The fact that you hold this letter in your hands tells me that you found my note of coordinates and probably already know my name. Did you enjoy the hunt? I sure hope you did, because I have a few more planned out for you, should you decide to do them.

For now though, please take some time to appreciate where you are and what the world around you has got in store for you.

You may have noticed the spiders in the cave. While some people are afraid of spiders,

"I wonder who would be afraid of them," Rin interrupts her with a grin. Miku just chooses to ignore it and continues reading.

some people simply don't care, and others even love them. Because of people being afraid of them, not many care to learn more about them. Know that spiders are important for our ecosystem. They get rid of insects like mosquitoes and flies, or exterminate pests in your garden. Would spiders not exist and take care of the world like they do, a sheet of around ten centimetres of insects could cover our whole country in just a year, other countries could have even more.

There is a lot more to learn about spiders, like their way of living, their anatomy, the artworks that are their webs and much more. But I will let the decision to learn more be yours. I've got more to tell you about Garreg Mach Monastery up on the hill.

Did you know that this monastery is the oldest one in our country? It's been built by an ancient people and used by many generations of families as the base of operations to build a vast empire and has stood strong without ever suffering great losses. Legends about it tell of a dragon-like creature called 'the Immaculate One' occupying the monastery disguised as a human. It was a mighty creature, but its own followers, after finding out its true identity, put it down and restored peace after the lands were plagued with a war for multiple years. Just a few decades ago, the monastery was refurbished and made into a museum that tells of the stories it has lived through. It is more than worth a visit.

I hope I could give you a fun time and teach you a thing or two. Should you be interested in doing more of this, the coordinates for the next treasure hunt are written on the bottom of the page. If not, then I ask you to please put the treasure back where you found it, for the next person to find.

Whatever you do, have a nice day.

Luka

P.S.: Take some trekking shoes with you for the next one

Sure enough, at the very bottom of the page, there is another set of coordinates, written in the same beautiful handwriting as the rest of the letter. The letter being handwritten makes this whole thing feel so much more authentic.

"Soooo… visit the monastery and search for the next coordinates afterwards?" Rin drawls out.

"Absolutely."

---

After having spent the rest of the afternoon inspecting the castle and its exhibits, both Miku and Rin agree that it's too late to set out for another game of hide and seek with coordinates, so they decide that the weekend fits better for the task.

So, early Saturday morning, they set out again, not just trekking shoes at the ready, but lunch and enough water for a day trip in their backpacks. They depart early enough to make sure not to encounter masses of people at the tourist spot they are headed to. After all, with the sunny weather announced for the day, people tend to go outside more than usual. After checking out the coordinates and finding out that the next point of interest is located up on a small mountain with a lookout tower, a small tourist center and a restaurant, the duo decided to make this a day trip. Maybe, depending on the next coordinates from Luka, they'd even have more to do for their day trip, not just conquering that mountain.

This time though, it's not just a matter of quickly walking up to the coordinates. To get up on the mountain in the first place, they have to decide on taking a cable car or trekking for about an hour and a half. And, considering the fact that they already arrived prepared for such a scenario, they quickly decide on the climb by foot.

The uphill path takes them through another forest that reaches over the ridge of the mountain and down the other side of it. The path itself splits at the ridge of the mountain, giving hikers the choice to walk down the other side of the mountain or continuing their way on the ridge towards the tourist spot.

With their goal in mind, they turn towards the tourist spot and continue walking. Miku, as the one leading them this time, starts checking her phone more often to make sure not to miss their target. Once again, still quite a way off from the tourist spot, they are led away from the path and deeper into the forest.

The forest is a lot more dense and they are a few dozen metres away off the path when they approach the coordinates. With the thick leaves above them, a lot less sunlight reaches the ground.

"Seems like we are standing pretty much next to it," Miku says, right as the cursor on her phone jumps a few metres to the side. "Wait, no, not anymore. Seems like the trees are blocking my signal."

"Hmm, that's unfortunate. Let me check my own phone," Rin answers and pulls out her own phone. She entered the coordinates already, but didn't use them since her friend was leading. "It's not better. But we should at least be in a 20 metre radius of it, right?"

"Yes, more or less. Should we just split up and search for it?"

"Let's do that."

"... That being said, what are we searching for?"

"How am I supposed to know? I'm just as clueless as you are."

"Right. Well… Let's just walk around and see if we can find something suspicious or abnormal somewhere."

"Alright."

Walking into different directions, they keep their phones in hand in hopes of finding a signal. But it seems like Luka did not make it as easy as the first time. The forest is just that; a forest. No cliffs with a possible cave, no structures, no holes in the ground, nothing. Just trees, a few more trees and the occasional tree here or there. For a change, there are some bushes, and a few dead trees lying on the ground.

Ten minutes pass and both of them don't find a single clue. At some point, Miku starts to rap her knuckles against the trees to find holes while Rin doesn't leave a single stone unturned and yet, nothing stands out.

"Did you find something yet?" the blonde calls out as they approach each other again.

"Nothing. It's just too hard when you don't know what you are looking for."

"Yeah… What do you think we should- Wait, my phone has a better connection." Rin surprisedly says and starts walking in another direction. Miku follows her wordlessly. They step through another 15 metres of thicket and come to a stop in front of a fallen tree with its whole root torn out of the ground, creating a tiny hill of dirt and roots.

"According to my phone, this should be it. Three metres accuracy, so there's not much else it could be."

"Right. There are quite a few holes in there, it might be in one of those. Whatever 'it' is. I'll just go ahead and assume it's something similar to last time, like a little tube or something."

They approach the hill from two sides, both of them investigating every nook and cranny. It doesn't take Miku long to spot a suspiciously bright patch of red deep inside one particularly large opening in the tree's side. The inside of the space is mouldered and rotten, with moss arching over it and various small plants growing out of the dead wood.

Miku is not exactly happy about what she's just found and makes a disgusted face. Still, wanting to know what Luka left for her this time, she announces her find to Rin and reaches into the crevice. She doesn't reach the treasure until she's inside past her elbow. Just as she manages to get a good grip on the treasure, (it is in fact a tube) she sees an ant crawling around on her upper arm, close to her shoulder.

While ants are nowhere near as bad as spiders to Miku, they are still not exactly pleasant or charming. Miku starts to pull her arm back and swats at her shoulder at the same time, "Get off!"

To her absolute horror, the one ant she managed to swat off was not the only one who found the intruding arm interesting. Her hand, as well as her lower arm are overrun with ants, crawling around frantically, trying their hardest not to fall off and explore the new landscape that is Miku's arm.

Yet again, Miku lets out a scream and starts violently swinging her arm around while just barely remembering not to let go of the tube in her hand because they still need that.

After a good ten seconds of blurred movement, the panicking girl slows down and takes a look at her arm, wanting to ensure the complete riddance of ants. Another few distraught swipes and seconds of self-inspecting later, she lets out a breath of relief and pats down all of her clothes some more.

"Jeez, what is it with this Luka and disgusting crawly things? Why would she even-" Right in this moment, Miku looks up to find Rin standing beside her with another laughing fit ready to burst out. "No! Don't you even dare-" But it's already too late as Rin bursts out laughing yet again. "Stop laughing! This is not funny!"

But of course, Rin only laughs harder at that. "How- How can I- Oh my god, Miku, my sto- my stomach hurts!" Her laughing doesn't subside for another while. When she finally does stop, she still lets a few gasps slip through while talking, "Seriously Miku, you should name a dance after yourself. A dance where people shake their arms around as hard and randomly as they can. It's unfortunate I was laughing so hard, I would definitely have filmed that."

"How about you just shut up?"

"Never. You're stuck with me. But now open that thing already!"

"You don't deserve to know what's in there. A so-called 'best friend' should not be laughing at their best friend like that."

"It's because I am your best friend that I am laughing at you. Because I noticed it was not worth the worry."

"Thanks, I hate you as well."

Though she says that, Miku doesn't mean it. She still feels embarrassed, but she is curious herself, so she puts the events that just transpired behind her and dedicates herself to opening the tube she found. It's a plastic tube with a red screw cap on it, so it doesn't take long to open. Another letter awaits them on the inside.

Hello adventurer

It's great to see you here. It seems like I've captured your attention, haven't I? Great job at finding this one. I tried to make it harder and not as obvious as the first one.

For now though, please take some time to appreciate where you are and what the world around you has got in store for you. We will make this a theme.

Did you get acquainted with the ants? They may be smaller than spiders, but they can be just as interesting. It's a well-known fact that ants live in colonies and are extremely strong animals. The strongest ones are able to carry objects around 30 times their bodyweight. Imagine a grown man carrying a small car. Yes, that's an ant's strength. In their colonies, they have tasks dedicated to each of them, like soldiers who defend a colony, nurses who take care of eggs and larvae, and the field crew who explores the outer world and brings back food. Did you know that there are colonies who conquer other colonies in brutal fights and let them work under their command as slaves afterwards? Once again, there is a lot more you can learn about ants, they are a fascinating animal.

Moving on, I am guessing you already know about the lookout tower further up on the mountain. If you haven't already, make sure to go there. It provides you with a 360 degree view of your surroundings with information panels about what you see in every direction. As long as you have good weather, the views are absolutely fantastic. You can even see this den from up there.

With that, please do continue with the hunt. I have more to show you, places to see, things to learn, views to appreciate. As last time, the coordinates are on the bottom of the page. I hope to see you at the next location.

Have a nice day.

Luka

"She doesn't have to tell me twice. I'm game for more of this. What about you, Rin?"

"Hey, I was with you every step of the way, I'm not going to quit now. Also, if I didn't accompany you, who would be there to tease and laugh at you?"

"You're not going to let me live this down, are you?"

"Never. Come on, let's check out the view."

Miku agrees and they turn back to the path they left. They don't waste any time in reaching the lookout tower. It's a wooden structure with metal fortifications, about twenty five metres high, with a staircase winding around the middle all the way to the top.

Ascending the flight of stairs, the duo finds itself in a small, round wooden house with windows on all sides and a door to exit on the larger platform outside. It's another fifteen metres in diameter and, like Luka wrote in her letter, has multiple information panels in every direction. And even though it's a Saturday, not many people are around. No more than fifteen people, busying themselves with studying the panels, taking photos or just generally enjoying the view.

The two girls exit the little house, stepping onto the platform. A gentle breeze blows over the mountain ridge and the platform, offering a cool contrast to the burning sun. They approach the railing of the platform on one side. It lets them gaze into a wide valley with a river running through it, flowing into a lake in the front, multiple large villages stretching through the whole valley and hills arching right next to them. Far off in the distance, a mountain range reaches all across their view, extending from their far left to slightly on their right.

Miku leaves Rin's side to look at the information panel to her right. A pink-haired woman is standing in front of it, lightly laying her hands on the edge of the panel and gazing into the distance. She looks beautiful from afar. Miku wonders what she might be thinking about.

Not wanting to disturb the woman, Miku stands a bit to the side of the panel and looks at it, searching the mountain range in the distance for the peaks that are displayed on the panel, until the other woman notices her.

With a friendly smile she asks, "Oh, I'm sorry, did you want to look at the panel?" and takes a step to the side.

"Yes, thank you," Miku answers and moves up while still leaving adequate space between them to share the panel. The short eye contact they had let Miku see orbs of deep cyan. Trying not to lose herself in them, she busies herself by continuing to study the mountains she can see. She's able to spot the three aligning peaks Eager, Monk and Virgo. Somewhere far in the back, there's also Mont Noir which is currently hidden behind a light fog. She's immersed in her thoughts when she's startled by a smooth voice coming from her right.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Huh? Oh, yes. Yes, it really is." Miku's brain just can't help but ask if this woman is talking about the view or herself.

"I always feel so calm when I come here and gaze out over the vast landscapes." She pauses for a while as she enjoys the slight breeze flowing through her hair, while still having that serene smile on her face. "What about you? Why did you come here?"

"Uhm… I found a-" She stopped herself and thought that it probably wouldn't be too good an idea to tell some random woman about the treasure hunt they were on. So she settled with a simpler, very general answer. "I mean, we wanted to make a day trip somewhere and I wanted to come here for a while, so we did." The little upturn on the woman's lips at what she said goes unnoticed by Miku.

"Hmm... You know, I don't think you are properly enjoying this. When you look at this view, what do you see?"

"What do I see? Well, I mean I see a beautiful landscape with mountains, waters and cities. Am I missing something?" She throws a questioning glance at the woman for good measure.

The woman never loses her smile. "Not missing per se. But, do you know what I see?" Without waiting for an answer, she continues, "I see a canvas. A giant canvas, painted with beautiful colours in exquisitely small details. A canvas I can frame and hang in a place of honour in my museum of memories. A collection of the most mesmerizing and fascinating views I have seen, all ordered and put up for display, for my mind to explore again whenever I feel like it. Do you understand what I want to say?" She turns her head to look at her companion and see her reaction.

Miku is not sure. She really isn't. What this woman said seems kind of weird. But for some reason, this woman has something about her that generates a pull, like a magnet and Miku feels drawn to her, maybe that's why everything sounds just as beautiful and fascinating as it sounds weird.

Not having been answered, the woman proceeds to talk and still keeps up that smile, "You don't understand it yet. Don't worry. Not everyone does. Maybe it will come to you, maybe it won't. You'll find it out for yourself. But do you know what the best thing is about all the art I collected? Every single one has so many stories hidden inside it, all you have to do is search for them. What's even more fascinating is that you will never find them all. You might think you've found even the most well-hidden one, but another one will surely show itself at some point." She looks back at Miku again and asks, "I could tell you a story about this particular piece of art. Do you want to hear it?"

Miku just looks at her and nods dumbly, like in a trance.

"Alright. We are looking for this mountain then." She points at one mountain on the table in front of them and then points out towards the actual mountain. "Felwinter's peak. Do you see it?" She looks to Miku again and waits for her to give her confirmation before continuing again. "Its story says that, back in the medieval age, it was occupied by one single man with powers beyond those a normal human is supposed to possess. Felwinter was the one to take him down. He himself then claimed the peak as his own and occupied it for many months, all the while searching for means of power to strengthen humanity. During his searches, he encountered like-minded souls with goals similar to his own. Intrigued by what others could show him, he joined the ranks of an order called the Iron Lords. To show his loyalty, he provided his stronghold up on the mountain as a base of operations and removed his single throne to rule it together with everyone else. In his honor, the Iron Lords decided to name the mountain Felwinter's peak."

"Wow. Sounds like a heroic story."

"It truly is. There is much more to it, I just gave you a shortened version. Do you want to hear more stories?"

"Stories? What stories?" Rin chooses that moment to butt in.

"Oh, Rin. Didn't notice you were there."

"Yes. I know. We split up and you've been standing here for like ten minutes already. Were you talking?" Rin throws a sceptical glance at this pink-haired stranger to scrutinize her.

Luka, noticing Rin's discomfort, chooses to answer, "Yes. Your friend was looking at the view and I told her something about it and the story of how Felwinter's peak got its name. I just offered to tell more stories about other locations you can see from here. Do you want to hear them too?"

Rin looks between Miku and the woman a few times and answers, "Sure, why not. What've you got?"

"Alright. Let me show you one in the south this time." The stranger leads them over to another side of the platform with another table. "We are looking for Longwythe Peak this time. The smaller one, located in the fields to our right. Do you see it?" Miku and Rin both answer with a "Yes" and let the stranger continue.

"Notice how all around the peak, there's nothing but fields. No houses, no structures whatsoever. The ground around Longwythe peak is extraordinarily fertile. Legend says that's the case because this hill is not just a hill, but an enormous turtle called the Adamantoise. According to the legends, it's long since been laid dormant. Though would it not be legends, we'd know about it. Due to its massive size, all attempts at building near its 'body' have failed, because it was never known where the turtle would keep its legs. And when it did rise from its sleep, a massive amount of ground would tear out and tear apart all that is man made. Out of fear, the Adamantoise was left alone and no one would come within at least a 500 metre radius of wherever it lay. When people didn't want to live in fear anymore, they wanted it exterminated. With a very handsome reward, a prince and his three friends rose to the challenge and defeated the behemoth in a battle that raged on for hours. Not long after the Adamantoise was killed, people started coming closer again. Not wanting to take any risks, they still did not build anything in the hill's proximity, but used the lands for agriculture instead. They were surprised to find their crops growing faster and more plentiful than ever. People thought it must have been the Adamantoise's body that served as a fertilizer and have since continued to use the fields for their farming. As far as I know, the fields are not that much better than other fields, but they still never delivered a bad harvest."

"That sounds very extravagant for a silly mountain," Rin says after a short silence and receives a fist in her arm from Miku.

"Hey, don't be rude."

The woman just keeps on smiling, undeterred and answers, "Don't worry, it's fine. That's why I said they are legends. Stories made by human minds, retold and altered over the many many years they existed. Who knows how much about them is true. But that's the exciting part about them, isn't it? You will never know and can speculate and imagine your own stories."

"I guess… I never thought about it that way. Have you got any more?"

Miku is not happy with how her friend is talking. "Oh sure, go be rude and ask for more afterwards, why don't you?"

"Shut up, she said it's fine. And I know just as well as you do that you want to hear more as well, Miku."

"That's not a reason to continue being rude. Also, I never claimed I don't want to hear more."

"Yeah, whatever, you nit-picker. Can we just get back to the stories now?"

The woman's gentle and serene smile by now has turned into a smirk and she starts talking before Miku can continue the argument, "With pleasure. Let me tell you about the lake at the foot of the mountain we are on, the Vesperpool. It's one of the largest lakes in our country and connects multiple of our cities with ferries. Many public beaches line its shores, people enjoy fishing or just driving around with their boats on it. But there is a much darker story that not many people know about. At its northern shore, the one closer to the mountain, there's a swamp area. While nowadays it is used as a popular fishing spot, I think many fishermen would not reel in their catch there, if they knew the lake's history. You see, many centuries ago, a young woman found her early demise in this swamp when she got stuck in its liquid ground and couldn't escape. Apparently, back then, there were still poisonous snakes living in this area and the woman was easy prey for them to feed on. Unfortunately, her soul and heart were still yearning for her partner and she wouldn't move on. Her soul found a vessel in a two-headed snake living in the swamp and lived on in a painful existence, ever in anguish and ever yearning to be found by her partner. Many an unknowing fisherman got lured in by her illusions of being a woman and found their deaths as well. When her partner found out about this, he hired a team of skilled hunters to eliminate her for her to finally find her peace and move on. Apparently, during their fight, she was constantly asking for her partner. 'Where is he? Bring him to me,' she would scream. When the hunters ultimately put her out of her misery though, her last words were a whispered 'Thank you' to the hunters and she left behind a letter, a love letter from her partner, to be precise. The hunters relayed it back to him and let him know all about what they've seen and heard. Her partner, now able to close this chapter in his life, went to visit the place of her death and made sure to pray for all the innocent lives lost here. He also left his letter there, along with a heart-shaped stone that served as her stone is still there today, though if it was really placed there by that man and for those reasons remains unknown."

Both girls stay silent at the admittedly quite scary story. They don't know what to say.

Fortunately, they don't have to think about it for too long as they are interrupted by a voice shouting in their direction. "Hey pinkie, are you done yet? You've been up here for two and a half hours already, can we go?" They turn towards the woman calling. She's tall, with blonde hair reaching down to her hips and she has a pair of headphones around her neck.

The pinkette looks at the woman addressing her and gives her answer, "I'll be right there." Then she turns back towards the two still silent girls and addresses them again, "Well, I should go. Thank you for listening to my story telling, I appreciate a good listener. Enjoy the rest of your day. Goodbye, Miku, Rin. I'm sure we'll see each other again." She smirks and turns around, walking off to meet the blonde that was waiting for her.

Miku looks after her, like in a trance again and says a small goodbye as well, "Yes. Goodbye."

Rin looks at her from the side with a raised brow. "Do you need a handkerchief?"

Miku shakes herself out of her stupor and answers, "What? Why?"

"Because you were drooling all over the floor."

"Wha- I wasn't!"

"Riiiiight. And those stories she told were real."

"What?"

"If you are going to tell lies, so will I."

Miku glares at her friend, but relents after a while. "Alright, fine. She was a real looker. What about it? Am I forbidden to look at the views I like?"

"Absolutely not. What's her name though?"

"I… don't know?"

"Seriously? She knew our names in the end and you didn't even think about asking her for her name?"

"I was captured by her looks and stories, can you blame me for that?"

"Yes. I can."

"Ugh, whatever. Let me enjoy the view a bit more and let's go to the next set of coordinates afterwards." Miku turns around to ignore the look Rin was definitely throwing at her and walks away to another panel to try and build her imaginary museum.

---

"Do they know?"

"They don't. Didn't even ask for my name."

"You're having way too much fun with this, you know that?"

"Maybe I do. No one cares though."

"True. I still can't believe how lucky you were though. Those two are cuties."

"Come on Lily, that's not what I was going for, you know that."

"What you were going for. But that blue haired one is totally your type, I know that. And what isn't yet may well still be."

"That last sentence was probably one of the most intelligent things I've ever heard you say. Are you actually growing some brain cells?"

"Maybe, who knows. Are we going to the train station now?"

"Yes. I have to be there before them."

"Let's go then."

---

Their next target leads them back into the city. No forests or mountains this time, but the familiar concrete jungle they live in. They find the coordinates to be close to the local train station, but a little way off once again. This particular station is a giant focal point for not only public transport, but also for the carriage of goods and even a garage for trains of sorts. Due to all that, a massive area of land is covered in rails and buildings to hold trains, or buildings around the actual station to accomodate for the people traveling by public transport.

The spot they are looking for is located at one of the buildings overlooking the rails at their widest point. At least 40 tracks lie next to each other with just as many switches between them. The building itself is an older one with a one-and-a-half metre tall concrete foundation elevating the whole building with wooden walls and a roof covered with bricks. It seems to be there as a kind of warehouse or shed, but rarely used. The front of the building has a concrete ramp with stairs on both sides leading up to the doors and is directed towards the tracks. The space below the ramp is a miniature jungle with all kinds of weeds growing.

Arriving at the shed, Miku is already sceptical. "So, we've had spiders and ants, what's it this time, woodlouses?"

Rin steps up next to her and answers cheekily, "I don't care what it is, as long as I get a good laugh out of it."

It earns her another glare from the blue-haired girl.

Rin snickers a bit, but instead of teasing her friend, she focuses on their task at hand. "According to the coordinates, it should be hidden somewhere around the front corner here. What do you think, where could it be?"

Miku takes a look around and rules out the possibilities. "The ramp is pretty suspicious, it could be below that. I'd say the roof as well, but we can't reach that, so probably not. Otherwise, it could maybe be in a crack in the wall or something? I'll check the ramp for now."

"Alright, I'll search whatever else."

The two go about searching for the treasure and it doesn't take long for Rin to call out to Miku.

Not having heard her friend, Miku gets out from underneath the ramp. "What was that?"

"I've found it."

"What, already?"

"Yup," she answers and holds out the new tube to Miku. "There weren't exactly a lot of hideouts it could have been in. It was inside the rain gutter, attached to the side with some magnets and I could get it out from below."

"Huh. Well, that was easy," Miku states as she grabs for the tube. She doesn't waste any time opening it. Sure enough, there's another rolled up letter inside.

Hello adventurer

Third checkpoint! We're halfway through. Are you having fun?

Please take some time to appreciate where you are and what the world around you has got in store for you.

I've decided to forego the insects and spiders for now. Maybe there will be more, who knows. For now, I'll tell you something about the plants growing beneath that ramp. More specifically, about the stinging nettles. To most people, stinging nettles are just a pest, something to keep your hands off of, or else you will get burnt. But guess what? While they may be annoying, when treated correctly, this plant can be used as a medicinal plant. For example, it acts as an anticonvulsant or anti-inflammatory as a lotion, or can strengthen your immune system if drunk as a tea. But that's not all. It can also be used in the kitchen to produce some excellent soups, spinach or pesto. Yet, that's still not quite everything. Nettles normally grow in places where the ground is wet and rich with nitrogen, meaning they are a great indicator for a rich soil. It's quite astounding that it would grow in such a place, where the ground is very dry, isn't it?

But enough about the plants, I assume you know about the train station here. It's one of the largest transfer sites in our country concerning trains. To your left when looking at the tracks is the station for passengers. It houses close to 30 tracks leading into many different directions, not only inside our own country, but to our two neighbours as well. Right next to that is a shopping center with shops from all over the world. This whole construction is truly an international focal point. To your right, a few hundred metres in the distance, you can see the depots for our trains. These buildings are especially long, built specifically to hold entire trains. Some of the tracks inside the depot have holes beneath them, so mechanics can easily access the underbody of the train. A bit further in the back behind the depots is where the movement of goods happens. Unfortunately, from here, you can only see the giant cranes. They themselves are already impressive to watch though.

How about you take yourself a moment to watch the trains coming and going, watch how they transport people and goods and go about their simple yet very important job. After that, I would say take some stinging nettles with you to cook something, but I'd rather you pick them in the forest where they are 'cleaner' than these ones so close to city emissions.

Feel free to continue with the hunt afterwards. We'll go deeper into the city. I'll eagerly be awaiting you there.

Have a nice day.

Luka

"You know, I wonder how this Luka can talk about such seemingly mundane things in a way that makes me want to learn more about them," Miku thinks out loud.

Rin, with another raised brow, speaks sceptically, "Don't give me that. You wouldn't be caught dead researching spiders or ants, you are too afraid of them."

"You don't know that. I might just research them for a school project."

"Bullshit, you'd go running to the teacher asking for a change of topic."

"I wouldn't! Hey, I might just go and learn something about spiders right now, you know."

"Yeah, no, not happening. You know what I wonder though?" Rin goes on without waiting for an answer, "Luka wrote things like 'awaiting you' or 'see you' in her letters. Do you think she's watching us?"

Miku shivers slightly at that. "Well… Maybe? I don't think she could pull it off to be at every hideout at the exact time we are there just to watch us. If she were, I think we would have at least seen her once somewhere nearby, right? And if she does, then… well, can't really do anything against it, can we?"

"I guess. Still not a very pleasant thought though, to be constantly watched. And maybe we did already meet or at least see her. She could have been on the tower for example. Maybe it was your sweetheart from back then, wouldn't that be funny?"

"My sweetheart? Really? That's all you got?"

"I've got more, don't worry. Can't just throw down my ace right in the beginning."

"I should have kept quiet, shouldn't I? But you know, now that you say that, that woman did have a way of speaking that seemed very similar to Luka's writing. Before she started telling us stories, she talked to me about what we both see in the view from the tower. She told me she sees a canvas that she somehow paints into her mind and makes a kind of museum to look at all the views later? And that every painting has its own stories to find. It all sounded a bit weird and yet made sense at the same time." Miku pauses for a moment to think back to that morning.

"Please stop being philosophical. It doesn't suit you."

"Hey, I'm not the one who is philosophical. It was that woman."

"The cotton candy?"

Miku sighs heavily at that. "Please, just shut up."

All she achieves though, is to make Rin snicker.

The two girls settle into a silence after that and sit down on the ramp to watch the trains for a while. They also eat their lunch that they didn't eat up on the mountain. After enjoying about half an hour there, they get up to find the next set of coordinates.

---

Their next destination surprises the both of them with its simplicity. There are no spectacular views, no spider's dens, no ant hills. They are in the outer parts of the city, standing to the side of a standard four-way roundabout. All four corners are equipped with a footpath and walls or buildings that seem to be residential houses or their gardens. Overall, a very normal location, where you pass through day after day.

The corner they are standing at, right next to the coordinates, has a dirt slope covered in white rocks with a hedge on top of it. It's already fairly clear to them that the next hidden scroll must be in between these stones somewhere with how much space they have in between them.

So, with determination, the two get themselves searching again. Filing through the stones, they reach between the spaces and lift the rocks that are not fixed into the slope, when Miku suddenly speaks up, "You know, I feel a little bit weird here."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, up until now, all the hideouts were in places where we were alone and no people passed us. Yet here, there's a car every five to twenty seconds, there could be pedestrians, and here we are, two random girls who are suspiciously lifting rocks from a seemingly random slope like we are mental. What would people think?"

Rin lifts an eyebrow at her before answering. "Who cares about what people think? Let them think. It's not like they are going to voice their thoughts, and even if they do, words don't hurt you. Also, don't you find that exciting? All these people passing this roundabout, none the wiser of the little treasure that is hidden right next to them. Just the two of us and Luka. It feels like something very special to me."

"Hmmm, I guess… But it still feels weird." It doesn't take Miku long after that to find what she was searching for. She breathes a sigh of relief at not having been crossed by any pedestrians.

Miku calls Rin over and the two find themselves a little stone wall to sit on and read the letter.

Hello adventurer

Another hideout found. This one was rather easy, wasn't it?

Please take some time to appreciate where you are and what the world around you has got in store for you.

You might not think of spectacular views or astonishing facts about animals when taking in this location, right? Did you ever take the time to consider and appreciate the work and time spent on building and upkeeping roundabouts like the one you are standing next to? I would not be surprised if you did not. Who does that, really. So, let's do just that.

Look at the roundabout. Pay attention to its beautiful flower beds lining the sides of the little hill they built. The arrangement of intersecting blue, purple and pink flowers makes for a beautiful image, reminding one of a sunset. The sculpture occupying the top is a model of a pear. In case you did not know, the pear is this city's symbol and representative of its flag. Many hours must have gone into building it. To keep its beauty, the roundabouts, especially its flower beds, need to be fostered on a regular basis. While the species of plants are able to hold their own in wind and weather, surveillance is still necessary to not let them die out.

In addition to appreciating the roundabout itself, I recommend watching the traffic. While driving can be a pastime for some, being in traffic is often being connected with traffic jams and unnecessary waste of time. So, right where you are standing or sitting, enjoy being here, outside of traffic, and living the moment. Sometimes, I enjoy watching the traffic and try to imagine where people are going. Are they going to work? Coming home from it? Maybe on their way to visit a friend or family? We'll never know, but we can make our own stories. Occasionally, you can spot one or the other driver who is irritated by cars driving in front of them. It can be quite amusing to watch.

When you feel like leaving, do so in the direction on the opposite end from where this letter was hidden. Down this street, you'll find three more roundabouts, all with their own motifs, different sculptures, flower beds or stone gardens.

After that, we are left with two more locations and letters. As per usual, the coordinates are at the end of the page. The next one could be one of the hardest to find. It very much depends on your intuition and luck.

Have a nice day.

Luka

Rin cackles next to Miku. "This is the third time she's wished us a nice day today."

Miku answers with a smile, "I don't think she meant for us to plough through them like we are."

"Probably, but it's exciting after all. Let's go and look at the other roundabouts."

"Give me another minute here, I want to search for the next coordinates and we'll go then."

Miku pulls out her phone to punch in the next coordinates and while she is excited to go for the next location, she is not exactly enthusiastic when she finds out that she's being led into another forest area. At least it's not completely inside the forest this time, but just at its border. Who knows, maybe this time, she won't be plagued by bugs…?

After discussing their further plans with Rin, Miku puts away her phone and they make their way down the street to take a closer look at the other roundabouts.

It's late afternoon when the two arrive at their target location. As expected, they find themselves just on the border of the forest. The location itself is a quaint little clearing looking out over a wide grass field. A herd of horses is calmly grazing on it. Below the meadow is a residential area with a lot of one-family houses.

There is a wooden bench and in the middle of the little clearing, a few rocks arranged in a circle with rests of coal and ash lie in front of it. Undoubtedly, people have been having a barbecue here.

Miku reckons that it must have been relaxing barbecues. With the quiet from the forest behind her and the wind stillness, she feels calm and like all her worries disappear.

They stand beside each other in silence for a minute or two before Rin speaks up, "It's beautiful here. Makes you feel at home somehow."

Miku absentmindedly answers with a hum. "Mhm."

After another short moment of silence, Rin continues. "I know what you're thinking about."

"Hm?"

"How you'd like to share this view with flamingo."

It's hard to do so, but if Rin had to describe Miku's face in that moment, she would say it's the epitome of "What the fuck?" But she doesn't get to look at it for too long before Miku slaps her hand in her face and pinches the bridge of her nose.

"Was it necessary to obliterate the serenity of this moment? Couldn't you have let me enjoy this a little more? And can you not be an annoying little brat for once in your life?"

Rin snickers again. "You know I can't. Where would be the fun in that?"

Miku sighs. "You know, the fact that I know exactly what you meant with 'flamingo' makes it even worse."

"You mispronounced 'better.'"

"Ugh. How many more of those will I have to suffer through?"

"Do you honestly think I would tell you that? Well, let's just say I've got a few more, and the number is rising."

"Oh my god." This time, it's an uncharacteristically deep grumble that Miku lets out at her friend. "Come on, let's just search for this thing. Maybe then I can have some peace and quiet."

"You know that is not possible when I'm around, right?"

Miku doesn't say anything and starts searching the bench beside them. It consists of three thick wooden planks to sit on and two of the same as backrest. It's being held together by stone foundations on either side.

She starts by scouring the cracks between the planks and the stone for signs of something out of place. Coming up with nothing, she continues by scanning all the surfaces of the bench, to see if she can find any holes or crevices with something hidden inside.

Meanwhile, Rin starts sifting through the closest undergrowth. She kicks and turns leaves, shakes bushes and searches trees and especially their roots for holes or similar hideouts like they had found up on the mountain.

Miku doesn't take too long at the bench, as she quickly realizes that she would not find anything there. So, she as well turns her attention towards the trees and undergrowth. She applies the same tactics as her friend. Raking leaves to the side, lifting stones, digging and enlarging holes in the ground, but still coming up empty. The long search without positive results begins to leave her a bit frustrated. That's when she spots a disk of a tree trunk on the ground in between some leaves, no more than twenty centimetres in diameter and three thick. It seems too suspicious to just be lying there. With a feeling of victory, she lifts the wood to check the ground beneath it. And with excitement, she finds… absolutely nothing. Nothing other than dirt and leaves, just like everywhere. Her feeling of victory rapidly dissipates. Standing up, she throws the wooden piece back down and walks over to the bench, lets herself fall into it and lets out a heavy sigh.

"My words exactly," Rin says and joins her on the bench, grabbing the water bottle from her backpack. Without them realizing, half an hour has passed and they've found nothing. "Want some too?" Rin asks as she passes the bottle to Miku.

Miku takes a swig as well and passes the bottle back. "I don't get it. We've searched everything and found nothing. What is up with that?"

"Beats me. What should we do?"

"I don't know. Let's just relax for a moment and then go back at it."

Rin gives a hum of approval and they settle into a silence. Miku leans back on the bench and closes her eyes to let her mind drift a bit.

It's been a long day, but a beautiful and captivating one. Just yesterday, her plans for the day did not look exciting with studying and trying to create a presentation about castles. She should feel bad for procrastinating, but Rin was right in her assumption that this assignment is not due for another few weeks, so she really can't. After all, she hadn't had so much fun in quite a while. Not to mention the places they've been to and sights they've seen. It truly was worth it to play this game.

One sight in particular keeps on floating around in her head. A dash of pink flashes in front of Miku's inner eye. Cotton candy. Even though she was annoyed at Rin when the nickname fell, she does have to admit that it fits and now it's been on her mind the whole afternoon. How does one rock pink hair like that anyway? (Says the girl with blue hair, but hey, still) Miku would definitely not mind meeting the mystery woman again.

"Oh, you're the girls from the tower today. Miku… and Rin, was it?"

Miku's eyes shoot open at the sound of the smooth feminine and slightly familiar voice. How is such a coincidence even possible? She sits upright on the bench and turns to look at the approaching woman. Which quickly turns out to be a mistake. The woman seems to be coming straight from jogging, as she's wearing a tight fitting tank top with leggings, all in black with her hair up in a ponytail, wired headphones in her ears and slightly sweaty from the running. All in all; hot. So, in addition to her thoughts already having been stuck on the pink haired woman, said woman walks into the scene, looking hot as hell and completely fries Miku's brain. Hence Miku says the first thing that comes to mind. Unfortunately. "Cotton candy."

Rin slowly turns her head to look at Miku with the most unbelieving look that has ever graced her features. "You did not just say that. Please tell me I imagined that."

After her short moment of surprise, the woman softens her features and chuckles. "No, you didn't imagine that." She turns her head to look directly at Miku. "Or did she, popsicle?"

That does it for Rin. She already starts laughing yet again while Miku is an absolute mess. After nearly slapping her teeth out from covering her mouth with her hand, she lowers her head in shame and embarrassment alike and is profusely apologizing. "Oh my god, I am so sorry, I didn't mean to say that. I don't know what came over me, I just… How much of a jerk must you think I am now? God, Rin, why did you ever have to say that?"

Said blonde is doubling over from laughing. She's barely keeping herself upright and couldn't speak, even if she tried. She turns away from them and stumbles away to try and calm down.

Seeing that this is a lost cause, Miku turns back to the woman, additional apologies ready. "I can't properly express how sorry I am for saying that. If I offended you, I totally understand that. If there is any way of making it up to you, please let me know."

The pinkette chuckles again. "Don't worry about it. If it makes you feel better, you are not the first person to call me a cotton candy."

"That does not excuse my calling an almost stranger by an object that comes to mind when I see her."

"A cotton candy might not be the thing I would wish for to come to your mind when seeing me, but I will take what I can."

Was that… no, no, that can't be, Miku must be imagining things. "Well, not the first thing, but… Oh god, no, that's not what I meant to say! I was rude and it was uncalled for. Please just forget what I said and leave me here to stew in my own embarrassment."

The woman chuckles again. "No, I don't think I will. After all, I did come here to take a break from my jogging. Do you mind if I sit down?"

Miku is equal parts terrified as she is delighted at that. Terrified because she is an utter mess and doesn't want to say anything more embarrassing than what she already let out, but delighted because the very attractive woman doesn't seem to mind and still feels comfortable enough to sit with her. So, she hesitantly scooches to her right a bit and motions for the woman to sit down on the left end.

The silence that comes afterwards is awkward. At least to Miku. She doesn't know what to say to open conversation. Someone remind her, how do human interactions work again?

Luckily for her, the woman releases her from the thick air by starting a conversation. "So, what led you to this quaint little resting place?"

It takes Miku a moment to reply. She's still not sure if she should tell others about this "quest" she's on or not, but she decides to throw caution to the wind and just tell her. Lying to her now would feel wrong after being so rude.

"Well, I found a little note in a book in the library with some coordinates on it. I went there and found a letter with more coordinates. All of the notes were left in a beautiful environment, like close to the tower where we met today. The fifth letter should be around here somewhere, but we haven't found it yet and don't know where to search anymore."

"That… was a lot more specific than what I would have expected, but sounds like you had an exciting day."

"I guess that was a bit specific, wasn't it? But yeah, it was an exciting day. It's been a while since the last time I made a little journey like this. And every place we've seen has its own beauty."

"I see. This makes me wish I was there as well. And this is the fifth location and you haven't found the letter yet, you said? Is that why you both had those frowns on your faces when I came here?"

"By now, I don't know if the frown comes from frustration of being unsuccessful with searching or from embarrassment and shame. But yes, we've spent half an hour already and found nothing."

"Ah, that can be quite frustrating, I'm sure. Maybe you should try to let it be for today and come back tomorrow. You know, new day, new luck. And besides that, you'll be well rested tomorrow, which is to your advantage as well."

"I guess…"

The two settle into a comfortable silence after that and Miku goes for her water bottle again. She takes a few gulps before holding the bottle out to her new companion. "You want some?"

She spares a glance at the other woman and sees her looking a bit surprised and oh my god, she did not just offer a bottle she drank out of to a stranger, just what is her brain doing today? This does certainly not count as flirting, if anything, this is just creepy.

So, she tries to rectify her predicament, "I mean, don't worry, you don't have to, I just thought you looked thirsty because you were running just now and you might not have your own bottle with you so you could have mine, but I know you might not want to since you don't really know me and I could have put something in it, even though I just drank out of it myself and you know what, I'll just shut up now."

Miku looks down defeated and in her mind kisses any chance she ever could have had with this woman goodbye. Surely no one could be so much of a mess like she is when being faced with a beautiful woman.

But apparently, the other woman is not fazed by Miku's awkwardness and chuckles again. "Don't worry, I don't mind it. In fact, I am quite thirsty. I'll take you up on that offer if I may?"

Miku is surprised again, mumbles a quick "Sure", offers the other woman the bottle and watches as she drinks. Now, this could have been just that; the woman drinking a bit of water and offering a few thankful words, before giving the bottle back and then maybe leaving to not bring Miku into any further embarrassing situations, but Miku's brain has other plans. For example consciously reminding her that, hey, by the way, this is an indirect kiss, time to stare and activate the cheek heaters. Oh, and also, there's a droplet of water that leaked and is now slowly, very slowly running down her chin and her long, slender, delicious looking neck…

Miku tears her eyes away from the woman and somewhere to the other side, just away, to try and hide the fact that she was ogling. All she can do now is hope that the other woman didn't notice her blatant staring.

If she does notice it, she doesn't show. She tilts the bottle back down, sighs and stands up. "Thank you, I needed that. Do you have a handkerchief on you to wipe the opening?"

Miku snaps her head back. "Huh? No, but it's fine, I don't mind." Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she can hear a distinct "The exact opposite actually," but she skillfully ignores that and takes the bottle back.

"Well, I will take my leave now. Thank you for the refreshment, and the lovely company as well. Good luck with your search." The woman winks at Miku before turning around and starting to jog off.

And Miku just so remembers how to function and also that she still doesn't know the woman's name and hurriedly calls out to her, "Wait!" She waits for the woman to stop and turn around before continuing, "What's your name?"

The woman smiles at her. "Cotton candy," she says, and runs off.

"Wha-?" Miku is rendered speechless as she watches 'Cotton candy' disappear in the trees. With no hope of the woman returning, Miku sits back down, buries her face in her hands and mutters to herself, "How can I be so unbelievably awkward, what the hell is wrong with me?"

Rin chooses the moment to rejoin Miku back on the bench. "Yep, I think you just reached a new record in 'most embarrassing lines in one conversation'"

Miku sends her a death glare. "Where were you anyway? Instead of making my life a living hell, you could help me for once."

It makes Rin laugh again. "Oh believe me, there's no helping you with pretty ladies."

"Ugh, just shut up. Let's just quit here and continue tomorrow. I need to go home and eat a bucket of ice cream."

Rin raises an eyebrow at her. "You talk like you'll never see her again."

Miku huffs. "What are the chances I actually meet her again?"

Rin smirks before saying, "I think they are not as small as you think them to be."

"Whatever. Let's go. I am quite exhausted after this whole ordeal."

---

Having had a good night's sleep and some time to relax, the two girls meet up in the late morning to start another attempt at finding the hidden letter. They reach the coordinates fairly quickly, having already known where to go, and are ready for another search.

"Yeah, that's nice and all, but where do we even start? We've already checked everywhere." They haven't even started yet, but Miku already feels her motivation crumbling a bit when she looks at this place.

"Well, apparently we haven't, so stop moping and get searching."

Without much of a choice and nothing else to do, Miku does as she's told and starts sifting through the undergrowth again. But with how much time they already spent searching the day before, Miku's technique is half-hearted at best and her work ethic rapidly declines.

Fifteen minutes pass by quickly and both girls still find nothing of importance. In her frustration, Miku finds the wooden disk from the day before in the same spot and kicks into it. The piece of wood flies off a few metres and lands upside down.

Now one might wonder how Miku realized that the object turned over. And true, if it were just a normal piece of wood, it wouldn't have been noticeable, but apparently, it wasn't innocent after all. Because on its back, Miku spots a metal attachment holding a plastic tube. No doubt in her mind, Miku calls out to Rin that she found the letter.

When Rin approaches and sees the piece of wood, she makes a face filled with disbelief. "Seriously? How did we waste like five hours searching for this thing?"

"It felt more like ten. But I don't really care anymore. I just want to know what's written in this thing and get to the last one. This one kinda killed the mood."

"Yeah no kidding."

After having sat down, Miku opens the tube to pull out the letter inside and begins to read.

Hello adventurer

This is the second to last letter. It feels like it all has passed so quickly, doesn't it? It almost makes me feel a bit sad, to "say goodbye".

But for now, please take some time to appreciate where you are and what the world around you has got in store for you.

We find ourselves in the forest again, or rather at the edge of it. This place here is a personal favourite of mine. The forest behind the fireplace gives it a certain kind of serenity which makes it a perfect place to meet people and have a barbecue. With it being far enough off from the residential area, you also don't have to worry about making too much noise, since the forest muffles almost all the sounds. When we are here, we often feed the horses with leaves and flowers we find. As long as you are gentle with them and don't threaten them, they will come close and even allow you to caress their snout.

Did you know that this particular species of horses grazing on this meadow is the last species truly native to our country? They are called Freiberger and they are known for their gentle nature, as well as their strength and motivation to learn and cooperate. To top it off, they need a small amount of food compared to other species. All of this makes this type of horse perfect for all kinds of tasks. They are used everywhere in our country, be it in agriculture to work because of their strength and robustness (although they have largely been replaced by heavy machinery there), in the army because of their cooperative nature, or even in private as a pet because of their gentleness and majestic gait. They really are a prime example of a horse anyone could wish for. While they are mostly brown or brown with a reddish hue, there are some white horses as well. Many of them also have white highlights, mostly on their feet or snouts.

I hope I could teach you something interesting once more. The next letter will be the last one. I sincerely want to thank you for playing this game. I hope you had fun, I know I did. And who knows? Maybe we will meet at some point. The world is quite small after all.

Have a nice day.

Luka

P.S.: Make sure to visit the next place in the evening and stay until it's dark. I don't want to spoil too much, but the ambience is gorgeous at night.

When Miku finishes reading, both girls fall into a tranquil silence. They stay like that for a while, until Rin breaks the silence. "You know, even though we didn't find this one for so long, it really does feel like this went by very quickly."

Miku hums and answers, "And yet it feels like we've had vacation and made a huge journey to sightsee so many things."

"It really does. Do you think the last place will be a worthy finish?"

"I sure hope so. It is the last one after all. And she said that we should go at night and that it has a gorgeous ambience, so it has to be good."

"True. So, whatcha say we go home and meet in the evening to get the last one?"

"Sure. But let's chill for a bit first. I'll look for the next coordinates and we can quickly agree on when to meet up."

After having settled the details and enjoyed their time, they left the place and went home.

It's late afternoon when Miku receives a message on her phone from Rin.

Rin, 17:12

Hey popsicle, sry to tell u but u r on ur own today :)

Naturally, Miku is not too stoked about the sudden cancelling of their plans, much less having to go alone wouldn't be as much fun and also Miku doesn't do well in forests at night. Yes, the last location was in a forest again, this time it seemed to be next to a pond, no more than about 50 metres long.

Having read the message, Miku quickly replies

Miku, 17:12

Wdym on my own? Thought wed do this 2gether?

Rin, 17:13

Sudden plans with len

Cant miss

And youll enjoy yourself more w/o me, trust me

Miku, 17:13

Bs i dont buy

What is it really?

Rin, 17:13

Like i said plans with len

Just go w/o me, I owe u 1 in return

Miku, 17:13

Whatever

The blue-haired girl decides to not inquire further and just accept it as it is. After all, when Rin has her mind set on something, she can't be deterred. She settles on idling at home and has dinner before leaving at around 8PM.

---

The so-called adventurer arrives at the exploration site when the sky is already beginning to darken. The pond is as small as she expected from searching it on her map. There's a gravel path going all around the pool, as well as a wooden bridge leading to a narrow island not quite in the middle of the circle. The encircling pathway has a large variety of plants growing and many of them are labelled with shields on the ground stating their latin as well as their native name.

Miku locates the coordinates before taking a leisurely stroll along the shore and on the island. Having taken a look at all the different plants and having quickly bathed her hands in the water, she returns to the coordinates. The location this time is a small resting place again, right on a small headland into the small lake. Another wooden bench stands there and offers a view over the pond.

Not wanting a redo of the last location, Miku first checked the ground for any kind of wood or stone that could hide a tube like the last one. Not finding anything of notice, she turns her attention to the bench. Ducking down, she takes a look at the underside of the bench and immediately spots a block of plastic material in the corner of the sitting plank to the leg of the bench. Inside it, there is another round object. She reaches for it and pulls it out. Not wanting to waste any time, she sits down on the bench and opens the tube to pull out the letter.

She starts to read the letter.

Hello adventurer

So, you have done it. You found the sixth letter. With that, we conclude this little game of hide and seek.

To be perfectly honest with you, this letter was hard for me to write, as I don't have a specific story for this place. But, the view itself more than makes up for it. While already beautiful by itself, the view is even better at around nine to ten PM. I hope you heeded my call, so you don't have to wait too long.

Enjoy the view.

Thank you for playing.

Luka

P.S.: I look forward to meeting you again, Miku ;)

When Miku reads the last sentence, her eyes open wide. So Luka was watching her! And she just had to reveal this when Rin isn't here. A cold shudder goes down Miku's back and her heart speeds up in nervousness and fear at the same time. She shoots up from the bench to check her surroundings and turns around. The moment she does, all her fear vanishes in an instant, replaced by excitement and embarrassment. Cotton Candy. She's here. Standing just two metres behind the bench, smiling gently at Miku.

Miku gapes at the sudden new arrival. "You're kidding me. This is a joke. Cotton Candy?"

Cotton Candy chuckles lightly. "You know, I'd prefer it if you called me Luka. You did realize it's me, right?"

"I mean, I did just now, but… ugh, I have so many questions."

"I will gladly answer them later on, but for now, we shouldn't have to wait for too long to enjoy the view. Mind if we sit down again?

"Uhm… Sure." Miku is just too confused at this moment to argue. And excited to get to sit down with the 'not so much mystery anymore' woman, but she wouldn't admit that out loud.

Luka steps around the bench and they sit down next to each other with a respectable amount of distance between them and a silence envelopes them.

Miku is the first to break it. "So, those meetings were staged then?"

Luka returns a smirk. "I prefer to say they were intended, but I guess you can say they were 'staged'. But in the end, I needed to have a feel on the person, or people in this case, playing my game. I am glad that a lovely lady such as yourself was the one who found the first note."

Miku quickly turns away to hide her growing blush. "Oh yeah? Well I am glad I wasn't assaulted by some ugly dude and instead found a beautiful woman like you."

"Oh why thank you, Miku. I am glad I could please you. By the way, where is Rin? Is she not here today?"

"She was, but she suddenly cancelled, saying she has something to do with her brother and that she can't miss it. I still don't believe her, but she might have been right when she said I would enjoy myself more if I am alone."

"For what it's worth, I appreciate you being here alone."

"Oh my god, you are doing this on purpose, aren't you?"

"Whatever do you mean?"

"You are totally flirting with me and not even trying to hide it."

"Maybe. What if I am? Should I stop?"

"... No."

After a short chuckle from Luka, the two sit in silence again with Miku trying desperately to recover from her blush and faster beating heart.

No two minutes later, Miku sees a faint light flicker at the opposite shore of the pond and next to her Luka speaks, "It's beginning."

From all along the shorelines, more lights start to light up and disappear again, some of them flying up into the air, others resting on the plants close to the shore and some floating just above the surface of the water.

Miku is taken aback by the beautiful scenery. She's never seen anything like this before in her life. The dark forest is illuminated by the hundreds of little lights, setting a truly amazing scene.

Miku can't hold in her voice as she lets out a quiet "Wow."

Luka answers her, "I didn't disappoint, did I?"

"No. No, you definitely didn't. This is absolutely breathtaking. Thank you so much for showing this to me."

"It's my pleasure." It's quiet for another short while before Luka speaks again, "This almost sets a bit of a… romantic mood, doesn't it?"

"Huh?" Miku whips her head around to look back at Luka. And oh god, Luka was staring at her and right into her eyes and also, when did she come so close? "Wh- What did you say?" By now, both their voices have dropped in tone and volume without them even realising.

"I said that this sets a romantic mood." Luka's gaze drops a few centimetres before coming back up to Miku's eyes.

Did Luka just… look at her Lips? But, that would mean… Miku couldn't help but think that the other woman's lips looked very enticing as well. "Oh. Yes. It… It does." Her voice is no more than a hoarse whisper now. Was she really going to kiss this beautiful mystery woman? The rational part of her brain tried to persuade her to pull away, they just met a day ago for god's sake, but her inner teenage girl just couldn't pass up the opportunity of having such an exceptional story being the start of something more.

So Miku leans in more, just a bit more until they would meet in the middle. It is at this moment when she feels a tickle on her arm. And she just so happens to want to check what it is and glances down, for her to spot two large fireflies situated on her arm and walking around. Miku instantly lets out a shriek and jumps to her feet, shaking her arm and slapping the intruders off.

Luka, still sitting down, looks at Miku with a questioning and decidedly confused look. Hesitantly, she asks, "Are… you alright? What happened?"

"There were two fireflies on my arm, crawling around."

"..."

"..."

"And?"

"Hey, I'm bad with bugs, okay? Please don't start teasing me now like Rin does."

Much to Miku's chagrin, Luka laughs lightly. "That's adorable. But don't worry, I won't. But when you're so bad with them, how did you deal with the first two letters?"

"Oh god, don't ask. Those are memories I won't ever forget."

"That bad, huh? Will Rin tell me about them if I ask?"

"NO, SHE WON'T!" Miku quickly chastises herself and continues, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell. Whatever you do, don't ask Rin about what happened, okay? Promise me you won't."

"Alright, I won't. But if she tells me out of her own volition, I am not telling her to stop."

"What even makes you think you'll see her again?"

Luka smirks at her, "Oh I don't know. Just a hunch." And sends a wink with her sentence. "Will you come sit down again?"

"Oh. Sure." Miku sits down again with her hands to her sides and sheepishly looks away. "I'm sorry. You know, for… spoiling the mood."

But all of Miku's worries disappear in an instant when she feels her hand being covered by another one. Looking at Luka, she sees one of the most gentle smiles she has ever seen in her life and paired with the quiet "Don't worry about it", she feels warm and accepted. She turns her own hand around to reciprocate the gesture and gives the other hand a squeeze.

Hand in hand, they sit on the bench for a while longer, enjoying the ambience of the pond. Only when the lights become less and less, does Miku speak up. "I should probably get going. If I go to bed too late and am not in Uni tomorrow, Rin will kill me."

Luka chuckles in answer. "Alright, let's go then. How did you come here?"

"By car. I parked it in the parking lot right at the end of the forest."

"Oh, that other one was your car then? Perfect, I parked my car there as well, let's go."

The whole way back to the parking lot, they don't let go of each other's hand. Both of them don't want to let go as soon as they arrive at their cars. They instead turn to look at each other and it's Luka who takes Miku's second hand into her own and starts talking, "This has been a wonderful evening, even if it was spontaneous. But I want to meet you again. May I take you out on a date next weekend, Miku?"

Miku smiles back at her and answers, "'May I take you out'? Gosh, you are so sappy, Luka."

"Honestly, you should have known that by now."

"True. But yes. You may. I'll give you my number, so we can text the details, alright?"

"Perfect."

They exchange phone numbers and after a quick confirmation call, they say their goodbyes and turn towards their own cars to go home. But right before Miku gets into her own car, she stops and turns to Luka once more. "Luka wait," she calls out. She doesn't let Luka have a chance to completely turn towards her, and presses her lips against Luka's cheek.

Miku whispers, "Thank you for this weekend. I look forward to the next one," before running back to her car, quickly entering and driving off.

She doesn't watch Luka in her mirror, but she hopes that there is a smile on her date's face. Because there definitely is one on her own face which isn't going to disappear any time soon. Honestly, she doesn't want it to. That night she goes to bed with a fast beating heart, a smile and excitement for the weekend to come.

---

Big thank you to IdrewAcow for beta-reading this story. If you haven't yet, go check out her stories, they are amazing.

If you enjoyed this story, feel free to leave a comment or a like, or give me criticism, whatever you feel like :)

Thank you for reading.