Me: As promised, here is the fifth chapter!

For three whole seconds, not a sound was heard. Then, all at the same time, they let out a loud exclamation of shock. "Captain..." Shinsuke breathed with eyes as big as saucers.

"By someone, y-you don't mean..."

"It can't be..." Tsurugi whispered.

Shindou nodded, his entire face devoid of a smile or any other indication that he might not have been serious. "You can't tell anyone about this, alright? Not even your parents!"

"We know, we know, but..." Tsurugi was at a loss for words, which was quite unusual for this composed boy. "What did he do to you?"

"That's what has been bothering me all this time, he didn't do anything. I mean, I woke up in a bed and then a boy started treating my foot and then he gave me a drink and then my body stopped listening to me and the next thing I know was that I woke up in my own room. I've been checking myself every day, but it seems like really nothing happened to me. It just... doesn't make any sense."

"What did he look like?" Shinsuke asked. "Was he old and grumpy?"

"No, he looked like he was about our age."

"So the stories are really true, then?" Tenma said in a dazed tone, referring to the myths that say that Kiriyoshi used his powers to keep himself young and alive.

"There is more," Shindou said. "I'm not entirely sure, but I believe I heard him speak to me while I was unconscious. He said that I shouldn't come back because that would be better for him and for me."

"I can't believe it," Tenma said after he let out a shaky breath. "I can't believe all that happened. So then, Kiriyoshi was also the one who made sure that you got out of the Misty Woods again?"

"I think so, but I'm not sure. It seems like the only possibility, doesn't it?"

"But we're talking about an evil wizard here," Tsurugi interfered. "Isn't it highly unlikely that Kiriyoshi would do such a thing?"

Shindou sighed. "I know, it's been bothering me as well. I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't have told you guys this, but I had the feeling that I would burst if I didn't tell at least someone."

"We understand, Captain," Shinsuke said. "But what are we going to do now?"

"I'll tell you what we're going to do," Tsurugi said with his head turned towards the village. "We're going to race back home and make sure I'm not going to get grounded for life, how does that sound?"

"You're right, I bet Aki-nee is wondering where I am," Tenma added.

Shindou laughed softly and nodded. This is why he liked these guys so much. No matter how serious and threatening the situation was, they would always help him get through it. "C'mon, help me up," he said as he extended his arms. Sitting still had caused his ankle to become stiff and it was a little hard to get up by himself.

They bid goodbye to Shinsuke, who had to walk in a different direction. Tsurugi and Tenma matched their walking pace to Shindou's speed, but the latter could feel a strong aura of impatience from the both of them. Of course, they wanted to get home quickly and he was slowing them down since he couldn't walk as fast due to his painful ankle. "You guys can go," he said, shooing them away with a motion of his hand. "I don't want to be responsible for angering your parents."

"Alright. Good night then, Captain! Tsurugi!" Tenma shouted as he dashed towards his cousin's inn. No doubt he was going to have to do the dishes if he wanted to make up for being so late.

Tsurugi watched the other boy's back for a second before he turned towards Shindou an stated with slight awkwardness: "Well then, I should be going too. Good night, Shindou-san."

"Good night!"

He watched how Tsurugi's figure grew smaller as the distance between him and Shindou increased. Then he rounded a corner and disappeared from Shindou's view. He walked gently towards his own house, making sure not to put too many pressure on his injured foot, until he realized something:

His ball. He had brought it with him to the field, but now he didn't have it. He must have left it there. He looked at the orange sky to estimate the time. It seemed like there was more than enough time for him to walk back, get his ball and walk to his house (the adult who'd signalled that dinner was ready, must have come earlier than usual).

He quickly found his soccer ball after he entered the field. The orb was made of eight leather triangles that he'd stitched together and filled with dry grass and small strokes of old leather. It might not be a luxurious ball that one could buy on those gigantic markets in the capital, but it was fine for playing their games. The leather had gotten stiffer because the ball got kicked and thrown around so much.

Then he remembered the scene he saw when he had woken up in the Misty Woods a week ago. Kiriyoshi had been playing soccer back then, and from what Shindou had seen, the sorcerer was pretty good. His material were of a lower quality though. Shindou could still see how the bundle of cloth and rope had fallen apart after the boy kicked his improvised ball. This rose the umpteenth question about the sorcerer, though this was a trivial one: wouldn't a powerful man like Kiriyoshi be able to produce a decent ball? Even if he didn't use magic to do it, a ball like the one Shindou held in his hands was very easy to make.

He glanced up at the dark trees and slowly walked towards it. He tried to spot Kiriyoshi again, but he saw nothing. He stopped about twenty metres away from the trees. Clouds of fog drifted slowly between the dark wood of the trees, making it impossible to look further then an arm's length. Shindou didn't understand why he had come here again. It wasn't like some supernatural thing forced his body to go here, nor did it feel like he was 'called' here by something or someone. He was just his normal, curious self.

Is Kiriyoshi looking at me right now? he thought and scanned the trees again. The sun slowly sank behind them. The shadows that were cast on the ground by those trees slowly crawled towards him, as if they wanted to catch him and pull him into the darkness. Despite the warm light of the setting sun, the spaces between the trees seemed cold and dark. The total image was rather uninviting, but Shindou didn't turn away.

When he was walking towards the forest, an idea had crept into his mind. It was a crazy idea, he knew that, but he thought that it was reasonable too. After all, he wasn't sure about all the things Kiriyoshi had done to him, except for one thing: the sorcerer had treated his foot and probably brought him back to the village as well. If it had been anyone else - someone who wasn't involved with dark magic and evilness - Shindou would have thanked that person properly. Shouldn't he do the same with Kiriyoshi?

His mind tried to call him back on his decision. He is evil! it screetched. Another voice replied to that with an image of the first side that Shindou had seen of the sorcerer: the happy boy who enjoyed playing soccer. "There is something fishy about this," he murmured to himself.

Kirino sat on a sturdy branch and stared intensely down at the brunette beneath him while making sure that the other boy didn't notice him. What is he doing here? he thought frantically. He is supposed to be so scared that he won't come close anymore. He made the mist that surrounded him a little thicker, just in case Shindou glanced up and saw him. His protective wall of water droplets obstructed his own view as well, but that didn't matter. He didn't need his eyes to know when someone entered the Misty Woods, anyway.

Shindou hadn't moved since he stopped a few metres away from the forest's border. Maybe he'll go back without entering, Kirino wished silently. He had barely finished that thought, or he sensed that someone came into the forest. He closed his eyes and softly yet repeatedly bumped the back of his head against the tree trunk to show his annoyance. What is it gonna take for him to stay away from here?

He smoothly shifted to a kneeling position, grabbed the branch firmly and lowered his body until he was hanging on to the branch by his hands. He took one second to estimate how far Shindou was away from him and, consequently, how much noise he could make before he let go. He landed smoothly and bent his knees to keep his balance. The whole manoeuvre had taken him less than five seconds and he'd barely made a sound. He closed his eyes for a moment to focus on Shindou's exact location.

The other boy stood still between the dark trees, his hands clutching to the ball in front of his chest. Kirino was about to improvise another scenario to chase the boy out of the forest, when Shindou spoke up.

"Ehm, Kiriyoshi-san?" he called out. It wasn't particularly loud and Kirino was sure he wouldn't have heard it if it wasn't for the mist he had created. "I-I don't exactly know what you did to me last time, a-and I know you told me to stay away from here, but..."

So Shindou had heard what he said when they parted, hadn't he? Kirino wondered why the other boy had returned, despite the words of a so-called widely feared sorcerer. Had Kirino made a mistake with his approach of the boy when they previously met? He had long thought about what he would do when Shindou would wake up. When the brunette had turned out to be awake when Kirino played soccer, the pink-haired boy was sure his heart had stopped. Why did soccer have to be so much fun that he lost track of his surroundings as soon as he started playing? Thank god he knew how to improvise! He had assumed that Shindou was scared of him in the end, but maybe that was wrong.

Kirino soundlessly moved closer to the unsuspecting boy, who was still figuring out what to say next. It was obvious Shindou felt very uncomfortable, being surrounded by thick walls of mist that made it impossible to look further than his own nose. Good, the pink-haired boy thought, feeling satisfied. If Shindou already felt uncomfortable, it might be easier to scare him away.

By now, Kirino had gotten so close that he could hear what Shindou said without making use of the mist. Up until now, the brunette had rambled something about how he hoped that he 'hadn't angered Kiriyoshi by entering despite the other's warning.' Kirino was about to open his mouth and exclaim in a loud and low voice that he was indeed angry and that he never wanted to see Shindou near the Misty Woods again, but Shindou's next words caught him off-guard.

"S-so, that's why I wanted to thank you anyways... You know, for treating my foot. So..."

Kirino was dumbfounded. Shindou was thanking him? Hadn't he been scary enough at their last encounter? Shindou was supposed to scream and run away at the mere mention of the name Kiriyoshi, not to come back and thank that same sorcerer for treating his ankle! This really is bad luck, Kirino mentally sighed. The first person who I decide to help is a smart one. Those were the most dangerous people for him. He could deceive the stupid ones, scare the brave ones and flatter the rich ones, but the smart and observant people were tricky. Kirino would have to be really careful if he ever had to deal with Shindou again.

Speaking of Shindou, the brunette had turned around in the meantime and was heading back home. Kirino automatically guided him by making the mist slightly fainter at places where he was supposed to go. He did that with everyone who entered the forest and he was able to do it so subtly that the people he guided didn't notice what he was doing.

He didn't relax until he made sure that the other boy was out of the forest. Then he walked to the place where Shindou had stood, because he sensed something that was off. Once he saw what it was, his breath hitched in his throat.

In front of his feet, surrounded by snow-white fog, laid a brown, leather ball. It was the ball Shindou and his friends always played with, and Kirino had watched the villagers often enough to know that this ball had never broken down during a game. He hesitantly picked it up, as if it were a rare, fragile flower. He could see that it was made of leather triangles that were stitched together. If he played with this, he wouldn't have to stop every fifteen minutes to fix his ball.

He looked over his shoulder, but the mist obstructed his view. He cleared all the fog in front of him with an annoyed motion of his hand, just in time to see Shindou enter the village. The boy didn't look back, but even if he did, Kirino knew that he wouldn't see him. The Misty Woods laid west to Raimon, meaning that the setting sun would protect him from curious eyes. In the orange light, it looked like the field was on fire, but Kirino knew that wasn't the case.

He looked back at the ball in his hands. This was probably his only chance to play with a real ball instead of a bundle of cloth and rope. But could he really take it? Wouldn't it be safer to just ignore this offer? But no matter how hard he tried to convince himself to leave the ball here, he couldn't do it.

I have to rely on myself, he thought. It's unlikely that anyone will ever help me. If I can get something better than what I have now, I should take it without hesitation. And with that, he permanently shut the cautious voice up. He started walking towards his cabin with the ball tucked underneath his arm, but stopped and turned around for the last time after a few steps.

"Thank you, Shindou Takuto," he whispered and for the first time since Shindou had come back to the field, Kirino smiled genuinely.

Me: Soooo... a little more insight on Kirino's side of the story, eh? Haha, I hope you enjoyed it, minna-san. Please tell me what you think will happen next. And if you have any theories about Shindou, Kirino/Kiriyoshi or whatever, feel free to PM me or leave a review!

Mata ne!