Okay, this has been a while! Do you still remember me? :P This story took some time in particular, since the reviews gave me ideas to change it from my original idea. I had to sort out the plot again, but I think this'll work.

"Good morning," Shindou said politely to the first customer of the day. He wasn't surprised to see Tenma here so early: the brunette bought bread and flour for his cousin on a near-daily basis.

"Good morning, Captain!" Tenma replied enthusiastically. Where that boy got his energy this early in the morning was a mystery to Shindou.

"The same as usual, I presume?"

Tenma nodded and Shindou turned around to put together the order. Since Tenma came here so often, Shindou knew exactly what he should get and where he could find that. He'd be able to empanel it even if he was blindfolded. Tenma placed some coins on the counter while Shindou was busy. Both were so used to this routine that they didn't need to talk.

"You look a little pale," Shindou noted once everything was done. "Do you have still trouble sleeping?"

"A little," Tenma admitted while sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "I guess I'm still a little afraid that Kiriyoshi will come if I fall asleep. Every time I doze off, I hear or see something and then I'm wide awake."

"I know what you mean," the older boy sighed. He hadn't slept much either lately, though the reason was slightly different. It had been a week since Noburu Naoki, the traveling performer, passed by Raimon. The story he had told back then, about the child abductions, were still freshly engraved in their minds. There were actually a lot of children who were afraid of getting kidnapped and consequently, many had trouble with sleeping.

However, it wasn't that Shindou couldn't sleep because he was scared. Sure, he was nervous and anxious about the forest ever since he had heard the tale, but that wasn't all that kept him awake. His brain ran in circles all night long, trying to figure out the mystery of Kiriyoshi. There was something that just didn't make sense. If Kiriyoshi abducted children for rituals or for his dinner or whatever reason he abducted them for, then why did he bring Shindou back to Raimon? And if he was evil, why did he treat Shindou's formerly injured ankle?

His mind jumped from one possible answer to another, every one even more absurd than the previous one. He felt that there was something he'd overlooked, but no matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn't find out what it was. He had tried to stop thinking about it, but that didn't work either. Even if he told himself that it was dangerous to meddle with supernatural affairs, it kept bothering him.

"Can you manage it by yourself or should I help you carry it all back?" he asked.

"If it's not too much trouble," Tenma replied and then they both grinned. These questions were just a formality, since Shindou always helped Tenma carry the stuff back to Kino's inn. It gave them some time to chat.

"Mom! I'll be helping Tenma if that's alright!" Shindou shouted to the back of the house and his mothers muffled words of agreement sounded a few seconds later. When they were about to figure out how to open the shop's door with their hands full, the problem solved itself as a new customer came in.

"Kariya-san?" Shindou asked in surprise. It was the older hunter who lived half a mile outside Raimon and who was also Kariya Masaki's father. The man didn't come to town very often as he liked to keep his distance. Whenever he needed something from Raimon, he sent his son. That was why it was pretty strange that the old hunter had come by himself today.

"Ah, Shindou-kun, Matsukaze-kun. Good morning," the man smiled. The frown that was on his forehead when he entered the bakery didn't falter, though. "I caught an excellent piece of rabbit meat, yesterday. Would you mind to trade it against some bread?"

It wasn't unusual for villagers to trade their craftswork without using money. Because Raimon was such a small hamlet and because not many travelers came by, there wasn't enough money in town to pay for everything. In such cases, people used their properties to trade. Shindou's mother was the one who mostly handeled these cases in the bakery, which was why Shindou called for her immediately after hearing the hunter's request.

"It's quite unusual to see you come here by yourself, mister," the baker's son spoke up.

Kariya's father grumbled something. "It's that damn Masaki's fault. When I get my hands on him, I'll spank him until he won't know what is up and what is down."

The boys sweatdropped and swallowed their laughter at the same time. Kariya liked to pull pranks, even on his own father. However, his father had a short temper and always made sure to punish his son when the pranks went too far.

"What did he do this time?" Tenma asked.

"That brat snuck out last night," the hunter grumbled. "That good for nothing kid thinks it's funny to go out without saying a word? Tsk! He's a strange one, I tell you! He even dumped a twig in his bed."

Those words caused the boys to freeze up, their smiles dissipating from their faces in a single moment. "W-what did you say?" Tenma asked softly, his eyes wide from shock. Kariya's father didn't notice and made a dismissing gesture with his hand.

"Yeah. When I came to drag him out of bed this morning, there was nothing but a silly twig."

"A twig?"

"Yeah, you know what that is, don't you? A stick? A branch? A piece of a tree? Ah, good morning, Shindou-san." And with that, the hunter focused on Shindou's mother, who had just entered the store. She cast a stern look on the two boys, telling them to hurry up and finish their tasks. They hurried out of there without a word of protest.

"My god, did you hear that?" Tenma breathed once they were outside. "Kiriyoshi got Kariya!"

"Shh! Don't be so loud!" Shindou hissed while placing a finger in front of his mouth - which was pretty hard since he was holding a stack of supplies.

"B-but Kariya is-"

"We don't know if it's actually Kiriyoshi."

"But you heard what he said, right? There was a branch in his place, just like Noburu-san said there would be!"

"Be quiet," Shindou pleaded. "Maybe Kariya is just pulling another prank on us."

"Do you really think so, Captain?" Tenma asked hopefully. Shindou looked into the other's eyes and fought with himself whether he should tell the truth or not. He didn't want the younger one to worry, but Tenma deserved to know the truth.

"If I'm honest, then no, I don't think so. Kariya may be a prankster, but this is going too far, even for him."

"So... now what?"

"Let's not tell this to the others, yet," Shindou suggested. "We might cause unnecessary panic. If he's not on the soccer field this afternoon, then we'll think about what we should do next."

The time passed agonizingly slow that day. Even though Shindou tried not to show his worry, he was obviously distracted and his mother sent him off early. When he reached the field, some of his peers were already there and a soft conversation started. Shindou informed about Kariya's whereabouts, but there was no one who had seen the teal-haired boy today.

After he'd asked that question for the ninth time to yet another newcomer, the others started to notice that something was off.

"Shindou, what's wrong? Why are you so worried about Kariya?" Kuramada asked curiously.

Quite a crowd had gathered already and even though Shindou wanted to keep quiet about it, he knew that everyone would find out eventually. "Kariya's father came to the bakery this morning. He... He said that Kariya has been gone since last night." He paused. "And he said that there was a branch in his bed."

"What?!" at least three bystanders exclaimed.

"You don't mean..." Sangoku started, but he never finished his sentence. He didn't need to, for everyone knew what he meant.

Kiriyoshi.

"I-I-I'm going to help out my parents some more," Aoi squeaked softly after casting long, wary glances at the forest. More followed, until almost everyone had left the field. Shindou didn't blame them. Many had become scared to use the field after hearing the story, but now that someone had actually disappeared, it became even more disturbing to be close to the Misty Woods.

"Does Kariya's father already knows what's going on?" Sangoku asked. He, Amagi and Kuramada were the only ones who stayed behind, safe from Shindou and his friends. The brunette shook his head and Sangoku sighed. "We'll go and tell him, then. You should head home as well."

"Thank you, Sangoku-san," Shindou replied on behalf of himself and his friends. Then the three older teens left and Shindou was alone with Tenma, Tsurugi and Shinsuke. None of them made a move to leave, though the mysterious forest made them all anxious.

"Do you think it's really true?" Tsurugi muttered eventually.

"It has to be true, it's just like in Danburg," Shinsuke replied. "Poor Kariya."

"What do you think happened to him?" Tenma thought out loud.

"Maybe Kiriyoshi used him to conduct a curse? Or maybe as a sacrifice for a ritual?" Shinsuke mooted uncomfortably.

"Or maybe Kiriyoshi ate him?" Tsurugi muttered, shivering as he pictured the gruesome scene in his mind.

"Does Kiriyoshi eat people?" Tenma wondered.

"How would I know?" Tsurugi replied defensively when both Shinsuke and Tenma stared at him as if he was omniscient. "It's possible, isn't it?"

"But Captain said that Kiriyoshi seemed like he was our age, then how can he eat something as big as Kariya?"

"How would I know?" Tsurugi said again. "I don't even want to think about that, to be honest."

It was silent for a few seconds. "Do you think that maybe... Kariya is still alive?" Shinsuke asked.

"Well, I guess it's possible..." Tsurugi muttered, not convinced yet.

"If he's still alive, I think we should help him," Tenma said, looking at the dark trees.

"You want to go in there?!" Tsurugi stared wide-eyed at the smaller boy. "What are you planning to do? Barge in there, get Kariya and peacefully stroll out again?"

"Uh... yes?"

The navy-haired boy facepalmed. "Why do I even ask?" he muttered to himself.

"I just think we shouldn't abandon him just like that. If we are careful and do our best, I'm sure it will work out somehow," Tenma defended.

"That's right! Kariya is our friend too, isn't he?" Shinsuke piped in. Then he looked at the trees and his confidence seemed to waver. "But then we need to go back there..."

"We don't even know if he's still alive. And even if he is, how would we ever find him without Kiriyoshi noticing us? Shindou-san, please talk some sense into them," Tsurugi pleaded, but then he noticed that the older boy had wandered slightly away from them, towards the dark trees. "Shindou-san?"

"There's something strange going on," Shindou said without turning away from the forest.

"What do you mean?"

Now Shindou did turn around. His face was a mask of earnestness and his eyes were determined. "Think about it. If Kiriyoshi abducts people to use them for a ritual or to eat them, why did he take Kariya? Why didn't he keep me there as a prisoner a few weeks ago?"

"Maybe you didn't seem very appetizing to him?" Tsurugi mooted with a faint trace of a joke hidden in his words, but nobody laughed.

Shindou shook his head. "That doesn't seem right either... I don't know what it is, but my gut tells me that there's something else going on."

"What do you want to do? Do you want us to go in there just because your gut tells you so?" Tsurugi asked incredulously. It was hard to imagine this was the same Shindou who had tried to keep him out of the Misty Woods a couple of weeks ago. The roles were completely inverted now. Tsurugi was certain he could convince Tenma and Shinsuke eventually, but something about the older boy told him that Shindou wouldn't be convinced easily.

That's why he was so relieved when the brunette shook his head. Shindou's next words nearly gave him a heart attack, though.

"No, I don't want you to go in there. I'm going alone."

Pfew, another chapter is done. Hope you liked the read. My vacation starts next Saturday, so I might be able to update some stories. Until next time!

Ps... Review please? I love to hear your theories (as I said at the start, they sometimes help me make the story even better :3)