It was the first time in a long, long time that Kirino Ranmaru felt so nervous.

He sat in the grass in front of his house, legs crossed and hands restlessly pulling blades of grass out of the ground. He had been unable to fall asleep last night. After hours or twisting and turning, he had given up and went for a walk. It hadn't helped to ease his mind, though. Every time he thought he could finally relax, his thoughts went back to that scene from yesterday.

How was Shindou able to see through him so easily? Just because Kirino stopped him from falling off that tree? It couldn't be just that, could it? Had he not done many more things to keep everybody out of the woods? Why was it that the one time he messed up, he was immediately pressed into a corner?

Kirino bit his bottom lip as he pondered. There were so many questions, so many things that didn't go according to plan. For one thing, Shindou was supposed to be so scared of Kiriyoshi that he would never set foot into the Misty Woods again. Even if one of his friends had disappeared, there should be no reason for the brunette to come here. Now that Kirino thought about it, why did Shindou even think that this Kariya was inside the forest? Was there any reason to believe that? If he wasn't mistaken, Kariya was the one who sometimes entered the forest to hunt. Did Shindou believe that the boy got lost during a hunt? But something told Kirino that this wasn't the case.

He shook his head and went to lay down on his back, staring up at the clouded sky. It just didn't make sense.

But the thing that made the least sense of all, was his own response to Shindou's request. It would have been so easy to distance himself again. Shindou had asked him for help. Why hadn't Kirino kept up his stern, evil persona a bit longer and refused? If he had then... then he could've been alone again... H-he wouldn't have to worry about all these things... He could've just forgotten about it all and gone back to his normal, solitary way of living...

That would have been the best thing to do! He was very fond of his individuality, after all.

"I bet I'll have to work together with Shindou, won't I?" he asked out loud to no one in particular. Talking to himself had become a habit of him after he fl... moved into the Misty Woods. It was refreshing to penetrate the constant silence around him now and then. Kind of soothing, too. "That will be a bother, I'm sure of it."

Kirino was used to making his own decisions, after living by himself so long. Working together would no doubt cause all kind of hassle that would've been there if he had simply refused. Yes, working on his own would be so much more efficient...

"Tsk, who am I kidding?" he sighed and turned to lay on his side. He knew. Deep inside, he knew why he had agreed to Shindou's request. He had known for some time now, but he constantly refused to think about it.

He was lonely.

He had pushed that thought aside so many times, trying to convince himself that it wasn't so bad in this forest. And really, it wasn't that bad. He could do what he wanted and his life was quite comfortable. Of course he had to work hard on his chores, but his house was resistant to wind and rain, and food wasn't scarce either. He knew a lot about edible plants and medicinal plants, and he took good care of himself.

But despite all that, there was still something he lacked. He sometimes wished he had someone to share his experiences with. When he scared someone out of the woods using a new method, there was no one with whom he could proudly talk about it. Or when he learned a new soccer move, he couldn't show it to anyone, nor could he use it against anyone. That maybe made it a little pointless to play soccer in the first place, but even when he was on his own, it proved to be a fun game to play.

Perhaps, the reason why he had said yes to Shindou was that he didn't want to be alone anymore. But at the same time, saying yes meant that he was risking his own safety... Why hadn't he properly considered the risks of his pointless desire before he answered Shindou?

Speaking of that, what would happen after this was over? When Shindou went back to his friends afterwards, he would probably tell them about all of this. Then the wall of rumours Kirino had built up would crumble. It wouldn't happen immediately, but slowly people would try to enter the forest. He could try to keep them away, but that wouldn't last long. A few years maybe. And then they would find him and... who knew what would happen after that?

But trying to scare Shindou away probably wouldn't work either. The brunette had already seen through him once before and Kirino was sure he couldn't fool Shindou another time if they came face to face. Especially when he'd agreed to cooperate. Then, should he... just blow the whole thing off? Should he try to keep the brunette out of the Misty Woods and forget about the whole thing? He could do it, but would that be for the best? Maybe Shindou would still talk, and all of those things would still happen...

Perhaps... Perhaps he could just tell Shindou to keep this a secret? That could work, right? If he told Shindou to keep quiet about all the things he had discovered about Kirino, then the damage wouldn't be that great. But Kirino should tell him as little as possible, because Shindou might not hold his promise if he knew that Kirino couldn't actually curse someone. It was best if 'the boy in the Misty Woods' remained as mysterious as possible to Shindou.

Tenma, Shinsuke, Tsurugi and Shindou stood about three meters away from the edge of the infamous forest. None of them said a word and none of them moved a muscle. Surprisingly, when Shindou had come back to his friends yesterday and said that he would return the next day, they didn't wait a second before telling him that they would join him. That had certainly been unexpected to Shindou, who had expected his friends to stop him again. After all, they had made quite the effort to stop him yesterday.

He had told them what happened when he met Kiriyo-, no Kirino, in the forest. Of course his friends were astounded when Shindou told them that he had asked the sorcerer for help. Shindou had tried his best to explain why he believed that the evil sorcerer wasn't as evil as everyone thought and it was Tenma who first agreed with him, soon followed by Shinsuke and Tsurugi. Shindou could tell that all three boys started to suspect something after yesterday's events.

They had told him all that had happened to them: how Shindou suddenly disappeared, how they mysteriously got back at the forest's edge and how that strange wall of fog blocked their way into the woods. Everything seemed quite frightening, but looking back on it, none of it was actually dangerous. This realisation, combined with Shindou's earlier claims that something was off with Kiriyoshi had created some room in their minds for doubt. That was probably why they agreed on going with him to see the pink-haired boy.

"So... How exactly do we get there?" Tenma asked after a while, staring at the milky fog. They would probably get lost the second they entered.

"I'm not sure, he didn't tell me how," Shindou mused.

"Maybe he is here to pick us up?" Shinsuke thought out loud and looked around.

"I don't know. But wouldn't he have shown himself already if that were the case?" Tenma responded.

"Well, whatever, we won't get any further by just standing here," Tsurugi said with his arms crossed and his eyes closed.

"That's right, maybe things become clear when we enter," Shindou said after a slight pause. He took a deep breath and then stepped forward. The mist swarmed around his body. He stopped when he could just make out the other boys, who were curiously staring at him from outside the forest.

"And now?" Tsurugi asked.

Kirino's eyes shot open and he jolted upright with a gasp. For a split second he was disoriented, but then he saw that he laid on the grass in front of his home. He must have dozed off a little while lying in the sun. But now he was wide awake, because someone had entered the Misty Woods. He normally didn't pay much attention to the things he perceived with help of the mist, as they weren't very important and usually barely changed. But he had trained himself to notice it immediately when a human entered, since that was the only real danger to him.

His first reaction was to think of ways to chase the intruder out, but then he realized who it was that had entered. Shindou Takuto. He hesitated for a moment, but then created a path through the mist. A path that would lead the other boy right to this place, where Kirino was too. His palms got sweaty at the thought and his heart beat loudly. Not good, he thought. It's no use if I'm a nervous wreck when he arrives. That won't leave the right impression.

He spotted a brown object from the corner of his eye. It was the ball that he had gotten a few weeks ago. That could help him to calm his nerves. It would take quite some time until Shindou got here so Kirino could distract himself for a short while and calm down a little. And he could just stop when Shindou was near.

He picked up the ball with a small smile.

Shindou stared as the mist around him suddenly vanished. In front of him was now a path that wormed between the trees, from both sides surrounded by thick, milky fog. It was similar to the path that he had followed yesterday and he knew that it was Kirino's doing. Even though he had seen it before, the realisation that this was done by magic let goosebumps rise on his arms. The pink-haired boy was nowhere in sight, but he still noticed that Shindou had entered and created a path with his powers...

This path would lead him to where Kirino was, right?

"Captain!" he heard from behind and he felt two hands against his shoulders. When he turned his head, he saw that it was Tenma who had given him a push. The brunette smiled encouragingly. "We shouldn't let Kiriyoshi-san wait, right?"

Really, the complete turn in Tenma's way of thinking was still a little incomprehensible to Shindou, but he was glad his friends trusted his opinion. They were probably influenced by the way he acted after he had encountered the rumoured sorcerer yesterday. One would normally be scared to death, but Shindou had immediately declared that he would return the next day. That must have had an effect on his friends, too.

"Let's go," he smiled.

.

They silently walked in a line, Shindou once again at the front. Every time the meandering path disappeared behind a tree, his heart sped up. What if the trail suddenly vanished? They would never reach the outside again! He repeatedly shook those thought away. He knew Kirino wasn't evil, he felt it. And he was proven right every time they rounded the tree and the path stretched out before them. But still, the uncomfortable feeling was present every time he couldn't look far ahead.

Passing another tree, a bright light hit his eyes and caused him to halt. The change from the dusky woods to full sunlight was sudden and unexpected and it took him some time to let his eyes adjust. It was surely the same for Tsurugi, Tenma and Shinsuke, who were now standing next to him instead of behind him.

Shindou let his eyes wander over the clearing and he recognised it right away. The small house with the veranda, the fire place... This was where Kirino had treated him when he was injured! A movement attracted his attention and he looked at something that his friends had been staring at from the start: a boy with pink hair who was playing soccer.

Kirino seemed so indulged in his one-man game that he didn't notice their arrival at all. He dribbled from left to right, kicked the ball into the air or against trees and then received it flawlessly. "He's pretty good," Shinsuke said after a while.

Tenma, standing next to the small boy, wore a smile that was even bigger than Kirino's. "Wow. So even sorcerers play soccer, huh?" Then his grin widened (if that was possible) and he jogged towards the sorcerer, who was still caught up in his own game.

"Tenma!" Shinsuke whispered in shock and Tsurugi and Shindou exchanged a worried glance. Tenma wasn't going to do what they thought he would do... right?

Kirino was just kicking his ball around, until he suddenly heard an enthusiastic roar. Looking sideways with a start, he saw a brown-haired boy charging at him at full speed. He was shocked, to say the least, and for a moment he didn't know how to move his body. But then the boy slided over the ground and Kirino unfroze. He moved out of the way, but still lost his balance and fell to the ground as the boy slided just past him.

His heart beat in his throat. What was going on? Had he been discovered? Were they attacking him? He had to get away if that was the case! Thoughts like these were running through his mind. Some people had probably followed Shindou to this place, and because Kirino had been playing soccer, he hadn't noticed that there were more people approaching. Now he was paying the price for letting his guard down so easily! He should have been much more careful! Why did he always forget about the world around him when he was playing soccer?

He gritted his teeth. There were more important matters to tend to right now, like getting away safely. But the brown-haired boy was faster than Kirino had expected and he had already risen from the ground. The boy approached him once again, but not as fast as before. As the boy's shadow fell over him, Kirino suddenly recognised who it was: one of the boys who often hung out with Shindou. Supposedly, they were friends.

So Shindou really did betray me.

The thought flashed lightning-fast through his head and hurt surprisingly more than he had expected. But he didn't have much time to think about that, as the boy came to a halt in front of him. Kirino's heart beat more rapidly than ever as he stared up.

What he saw surprised him, though. Instead of a victorious smirk, which Kirino deemed a more appropriate reaction when one cornered an enemy, there was a bright and genuine smile on the boy's face. Then he extended his hand. Kirino's gaze shifted between the other's hand and face, but he didn't make a move.

"You," the boy started and his smile seemed to widen, "you're really good at soccer. Let's play together some other time."

Me: I failed /.\

Gosh, what is even with this chapter?! Shinsuke, Tenma and Tsurugi, who tried so hard to keep Shindou out of the forest, went with him today without a word. And that last scene... guwaah, it seems so strange and dramatic and unreal and just... not good! Blech, I feel kinda ashamed that it turned out like this.

Despite that, I hope you enjoyed reading this, if even a little. I will try to make the next chapter better.

Xx Lotus Sword

Ps. I left a teeny tiny hint to Kirino's background in the first scene-thingy. Everybody probably noticed, but I still wanted to point it out ^^ I'm planning on gradually exposing more in the future chapters, but I'd love to hear your theories. What happened in Kirino's past? Is he really a centuries-old-sorcerer who stayed young with help of magic? And if he isn't, then what is he? Please tell me in a review! (L)