Spirit of Fire, Seeker of Truth

by A Hopeful One

(A fanmade Inoue route.) Kotarou becomes a bit more friendly with his so-called rival, and things escalate a lot more from there. Featuring: conspiracies, the occult, fighting off not one but two mysterious organizations at once, and everyone's favourite intrepid reporter. All we want is the truth...and maybe a bit of love to go along with it. In-progress.

2. Lost in the Forest (I)

Inoue Akira and Tennouiji Kotarou are from Rewrite, a 2011 visual novel published by Key, translated into English by Amaterasu Translations, and adapted into an anime by Studio 8bit. Elements of the following story were also inspired by Inoue's story in the now-defunct mobile gacha game, Rewrite: Ignis Memoria (which never received any English translation).

Warning: contains sort-of spoilers for Moon and Terra. Assume that events not mentioned occur in more or less the same way as in canon.

~~[r]~~

Record: Lost in the Forest (I)

"Are you saying that you plan to go deep into the forest to investigate?" I nearly shout over the phone.

"Yes."

"By yourself?" I demand.

"...Yes?"

"No way in hell." I breathe.

"You can't stop me, Tennouji." Inoue's less enthusiastic voice sounds from the speaker.

"I know I can't," I say. "And I know if I tried, you'd probably find a way to go anyway."

"Then–"

"I'm coming with you," I heard myself say. Swinging my legs off my bed, I began one-handedly retrieving the items I used for my previous trip.

What would I need? The printed map and the compass, for sure. Portable food–not snacks, but reliable trail food.

"What?" Inoue's tone was laced with disbelief.

"You heard me." I said. "What if you get lost? Or attacked? Or injured, and unable to move?"

"I…"

"That dog in the alleyway. Those weird insects in the forest." My movements increase in speed, and I turn the phone to speaker mode to free up both hands. "Look," I say simply. "I know you have a good eye for danger. But–"

For a moment I struggle to find the words to describe my thoughts.

About what Akane had said about nature; its true form, wild and suffocating and unforgiving.

"But? But what?" Inoue's voice rose in pitch slightly.

"Sorry. I mean, nature is scary." That was the best I could do for now. "There's no telling what might happen. Even the Occult Club had all of its members go together."

"...fine." Inoue seemingly relented, before launching into a new tack. "But if you do anything to steal the scoop–!"

"Good grief, Inoue." I let out another sigh. "I've already told you, the Occult Club (which includes myself, obviously) is done with the investigation. I'm not going to report anything on this. I'll swear on our rivalry if you want me to."

"...I didn't know our rivalry was that important to you."

I really couldn't get a peg on this girl. Now she's getting all docile? For what?

"I'll swear on whatever you want, then. Eat a thousand needles, blah blah." My hands rummage for more stuff.

A sleeping bag? Would I even be staying out overnight?

"It's fine." Inoue's voice sounds from the speaker once again. "I'll send you the locations and stuff on a message. See you in half an hour!"

The line went dead.

"Glad she's back on her feet," I mutter to myself, before looking at the sleeping bag again. A tent would probably be too much, but…

I add it to my pack.

You had to expect the unexpected.

Finally, I was done. Shouldering my pack, I glance back at my room.

The smart thing to do, of course, was to tell someone where I was going, in case something happened. To message Kotori with my intended route and destination, for example.

But another part of me felt it would be playing things too safe.

After all, youth was all about walking on tightropes.

…I had the funny feeling some of my memories were getting jumbled up there, but I paid it no mind.

As a compromise, I scrawl a note and leave it on my table. Hopefully it'll never have to be read.

~~[r]~~

"You're late!" Inoue greets me at our designated meeting spot.

She was dressed in the same casual outfit I had seen her last, which was good. Long sleeves and trousers would protect one from the elements. On her back was a rucksack similar to mine, and around her neck was a less bulky camera than the one I usually saw her with, which I ask about.

"It's one of my old ones," she explains. "I heard what you said about danger, and decided not to risk my best equipment after all."

"Even though it might be a scoop of a lifetime?" I prod.

"Hey, even I know how to balance risk sometimes." Inoue retorts. "Did you take me as a single-minded idiot?"

I decide not to answer that, and instead take out my printed map. "You have a pencil?" She hands me one, and I make a few markings. "The Occult Club went as far as here," I tap the location of the rainbow swamp. "And judging by what you sent, we're going up until here." I circle a region significantly further in, oblique to the river's end.

"That seems about right." Inoue nods. "Let's go."

We begin walking, right into the embrace of Mother Nature. The aim was to follow the river like the Occult Club had did before, reach the rainbow swamp, then go in a straight line from there to Inoue's destination.

"You didn't bring a map?"

She shakes her head. "I'm not good at reading paper maps. Besides, I have my phone, and spare batteries right here." She tapped a black utility belt at her waist.

"...How many devices do you have on you, exactly?"

"A phone, a video camera–" she waves the camera in her hand "-a digital camera, and my laptop."

"You're…really something, you know?"

"People do call me weird sometimes, yes." Inoue was still looking around, ever so often. Occasionally, she would also point her camera around, glancing at the feed on its tiny LCD screen.

"Looking for something?"

"More mysterious animals," she explains. "I was doing some investigation of my own. I'm probably going to sound crazy, but there might be some with the ability to hide from human eyes."

"But not digital devices, huh?" That was sharp of her. "Also, did you forget that I'm in the Occult Club? I believe in stranger things more than you do."

I also know stranger things than normal existed.

Like myself, for instance.

If I really had been desperate to grope Pres, I could have revealed my ability, the one that let me strengthen myself as I saw fit, and then won the bet on the spot.

But an internal voice tells me that ability was not something to be used lightly. A strange power with no apparent cost–it was definitely a trap.

There was nothing so convenient in this world.

Imitating Inoue, I look around for strange animals, or anything out of the ordinary.

The conversation lapses into silence, with only the chirping of insects around us. Contrary to her usual excited self, Inoue seems a lot more focused.

I try to keep the conversation going. "So, about the bugs in my phone…"

"What about them?"

"Remove them!" I was indignant. "Are you some sort of pervert or something?"

"No and never! They're a valuable source of intel." Inoue defends herself and speeds up slightly.

Of course, I easily match her pace, and advance on her menacingly. "Don't forget, Inoue."

"W-What?"

"We're alone in the forest right now." I try to make myself sound as ominous as possible. "And you didn't tell anyone where you were headed, right? So I could just do aaaanything to you now, and nobody would know. And there's nobody here to help you."

I stick out my fingers and waggle them suggestively, while making a funny face.

"As if you would ever do anything of the sort, Tennouji." Inoue cuts through my words without hesitation, not even bothering to look at me. "You're too honourable."

"Wow, thanks." I drop my hands.

"...and honourable people are the most susceptible to blackmail." Inoue turned around, and made a grotesque expression of her own.

I couldn't help it; I snorted.

"Oh, come on! At least laugh properly!" She seems indignant.

"I would, but blackmail seems like something you would use." I point out.

"I have my limits." Inoue appears to go into thought. "And I don't think…hmm, but…nah, that definitely doesn't count as blackmail."

"I don't think I want to know." I decide that the underworld of the press was a realm too fearsome for little old me.

A rustling in the bushes draws both of our attentions, and my head snaps towards the source of the sound. Unconsciously, my arm drifts upward, a gesture to both shield and keep Inoue back.

My other hand tightens into a fist.

…I really wish I had brought a weapon along with me.

After a few tense moments, what emerged was…a rat.

A rat, that is, with two heads.

I heave a sigh of relief. Orthus's cousin wouldn't hurt us.

Inoue was already rushing forward, camera in hand. Her expression, however, had a tinge of melancholy. "It's…"

"My dear club president said they're a result of genetic mutations," I say somberly. "And that they usually don't survive until adulthood."

I glanced again at Inoue. She had crouched down and had taken a picture, but made no move to touch it. Compared to Shizuru, who hadn't hesitated to cradle Orthus in her hands, Inoue seemed to be keeping her distance.

Orthus's cousin makes a weak squeak. It probably didn't have long to live. "Come on." I gave Inoue a gentle tap on the shoulder. "We need to get going."

"Yeah, let's."

She stands up and walks away. Shooting a final look at the rat, I do the same.

As we inch closer to our first destination, I attempt to make conversation to lighten the mood. "Do you like animals?"

"Meaning?"

"Cats, dogs, that kind of thing."

"Not really. How about you?" She shakes her head. Her brown hair bobbed slightly, and I noted that it was slightly damp with sweat.

It might be time for a break soon. "I don't really like nor dislike them."

"Yeah, you didn't seem like an animal kind of person to me either. Nor the kind to keep pets."

"The heck is that supposed to mean?" I fake exaggerated anger. "Are you saying I don't have the capacity to nurture life? To take care of another being? Is that it?"

"I'm glad you got it right away!" Inoue chirps. "You probably couldn't even take care of plants."

"Geh." I involuntarily let out an inelegant sound. "You know, my potted plants really would be dying."

"I was joking about you getting it, you know. I don't actually think you're a menace to life." Inoue looks at me. "Also, what's with that weird phrasing? 'Would be'?"

"As in, I actually keep plants on my balcony," I explain. "And they all would have died if it wasn't for Kotori."

"Oh." Inoue says. "Is she very good with plants?"

"I don't think there's anyone better." I state my honest opinion. "She's on the level of like, reviving plants from the dead."

I go on to tell Inoue about the day where she came over and took care of my dying plants. What she did to those sadly-neglected sprouts in my balcony's planter box could only be described as a miracle.

"I see," Inoue says. "So you and her really are a–"

"-pair of childhood friends, yes." I forestall what was the likely end to that sentence. "I mean it. I was rejected a long time ago, and she's been keeping me at that distance ever since."

"Ho-oo?" Inoue suddenly seems a lot more interested. "Tell me more."

Crap. I forgot I who I was dealing with here. "Only if you promise you won't write some sort of tabloid expose on me."

Negotiating favourable terms of surrender would probably be better, seeing as I wasn't going to be shaking her off for the next few hours.

"Fine, fine. I promise. Just tell me."

"To be honest," I scratch my head, "now that you mention it, there isn't really much to tell."

"Classic weasel words, Tennouji."

"I mean it, though. I confessed to her in middle school, she said no, and things have been in this state ever since."

"I see." Inoue nods thoughtfully. "Does it hurt?"

"Back then, it definitely did." That was for certain. "I remember feeling all torn up inside."

"And now?"

I give her question some thought. Did it still hurt? Truth be told… "Some of it still stings, but it doesn't really hurt any more. And with every passing day, it lessens."

Every passing day spent with the Occult Club. Going on adventures, or just simply having fun. My life had became so much brighter than it was before, a loner with too few friends.

…and it wasn't just the Occult Club that I had been going on adventures with.

I had been doing plenty of investigations with Inoue, too.

"But why are you suddenly asking about this?" I ask.

"Research." Inoue simply says. "I've never been in a relationship before, so I was curious."

Did her voice seem higher than usual, or was it just me? "Maybe ask someone who's actually in a relationship next time, idiot." I rebuke her, but with no real bite.

The familiar, unpleasant smell that had been growing for some time suddenly shoots up in intensity, and I knew we were close. In fact, I think I actually recognized a bit of the vegetation, from after we were reunited following Shizuru's detour.

I brush aside a shrub, and the same unearthly sight meets my eyes once more.

A surface of viscous liquid, marbled with luminescent colours, all seven of the rainbow and then some. A pervasive sense of wrongness overcomes me, and I take an involuntary step back.

A hand comes up to rest on my back. "Tennouji?" Inoue's voice had concern in it. "Are you okay?"

"Just feeling a bit light-headed." I grit out. The swirling colours of the swamp–I couldn't stand to look at them, and I turn away.

"We should probably take a break soon, anyway." Inoue mutters. She took a few more pictures.

I look up into the clear sky. The sun shone down clearly onto this area, and this area alone–which was the problem. The light that was supposed to be soothing and warm was now just a sign of aberration.

"Let's go." Inoue tugs on my sleeve, and it takes me a second to respond. "I want to take a break, but here isn't a good place for it."

"Did you get a picture of those?" I indicate the rotting trees.

"Yeah, I did. Come on." She leaves, and I follow along in her wake.

~~[r]~~

We set down our bags at bit northwest of the river's end, where a fallen log made for something sturdy to sit on. At this distance, I could no longer smell the pungence of the swamp.

"Here." Inoue hands me a triangle wrapped in plastic. "This is yours."

It was a sandwich. Very fortunate, because in my rush to meet up with Inoue, I skipped lunch, and there were only rations in my pack.

Damn. She was even thoughtful enough to have prepared lunch for me. "Thanks," I say.

"Don't worry about it." Somehow, Inoue already had her laptop on her lap, and was tapping away with one hand while holding her own sandwich with the other. "It's a bit clumsily made, but I made sure to put enough meat in it for it to be filling. For a good forest expedition."

Sure enough, there was a whole slab of chicken katsu in there, along with a bit of lettuce and mayonaise. "Well, thanks." I bite into it with relish, before scooting a bit closer to see what Inoue was typing.

"It's just a few notes about the swamp and the rat." She notices me looking and explains, before powering off the laptop again. "How's the food? I made it out of leftovers, so…"

"It's good," I say. Perhaps hunger really was the best spice after all.

Inoue looks somewhat pleased at my answer. "Want some tea?"

I accept the thermos flask and sip from it gratefully. "Sorry. All I have is water, so…"

"Like I said, don't worry about it." Inoue looks off into the distance for a moment. "After all, I'm the one that dragged you–"

"Right, gonna stop you there." I hold up a hand. "You didn't make me do anything, and I came along because I wanted to. Can't let my rival get eaten by some overgrown UMA, after all." I throw in a joke at the end.

"...okay." Inoue says, a bit hesitantly. She stands up. "Shall we go, then?"

Now with my map and compass in hand, I pressed forward, Inoue following shortly behind. She seemed to be leaving me to navigate as she focused her attention on our surroundings.

A gentle breeze ruffled my hair. "We should get off the trail and onto the rocky terrain here," I direct, but Inoue seems to have stopped. "Inoue?"

"Look above," she breathes.

I tilt my head skyward, only to see, through a gap in the canopy–

–some sort of giant flying creature, high above us. "In broad daylight," I mutter to myself.

At that distance, I couldn't make out much of its features, only that it seemed vaguely green and feathered. Its silhouette suggested wings and a tail.

As quick as it appeared, it passed out of sight.

"I got a picture," Inoue speaks from behind me. "Let's keep going."

The ground may have become less muddy, but the forest was as suffocating as ever. Sight and smell and sound all blended together to form an overwhelming presence.

It was as what Akane had mentioned–nature's true form. Nature as it was, not domesticated as it had been in the city, with its green roofs and neatly maintained gardens.

The green here was overgrown, wild.

I suddenly wish I had brought a weapon with me. Even if it was just a fruit knife from my kitchen. Never before had I felt this defenceless…and there was also another person here that I had to protect.

I stop in my tracks. "Who's there?" I shout.

"Tennouji?" Inoue questions me. "Don't get a mental breakdown on me here, now."

"Don't you sense someone following us?" I ask her. It wasn't a strong sense of being pursued, but something more like…curiosity? Neither was it consistent; it seemed to be fading in and out, appearing then disappearing.

"I don't." Inoue says resolutely. "And don't scare me like that. Keep your head." She stared at me for a few moments. "But if you think we're being followed, do you want to move a bit quicker?"

"Only if you're not straining to keep up," I tell her.

I also remember that she's carrying more heavy equipment than me. "Do you want to swap packs?"

"No, I'll be fine." Inoue reassures me. "Don't underestimate this girl with mountain-climbing experience."

"You have experience with that?" I ask.

"I used to go hiking with my dad." Inoue cracks a smile. "Flat ground like this is nothing."

"You somehow seem more impressive the more I get to know about you." I pay her a compliment.

"Flattery will get you nowhere," she says, but she still looked happy. "In any case, let's–above you!"

"What?"

The warning barely registered in my mind, before something fell onto me from the branches above.

I felt numerous small fangs latch onto my left arm, penetrating through the sleeves of my jacket.

Inoue makes to step forward, but I flail my arm in response. "Don't! I don't want this thing to get onto you!"

The bastard biting into me was a small black-and-purple blob, a fat worm with a circular mouth like a sucker, and two appendages like mildly resembled arms.

"Get the hell off me!" I flail my arm with force once more, twice more, but it still remains latched on, stubbornly.

Well, then, guess I'll just have to be a bit more violent!

I hammer the thing into the trunk of the nearest tree, and it writhed in response–but it still wasn't letting go.

"Tennouji!" Inoue was rustling through her bag, looking for something, but I paid her no mind. The thing was rapidly growing more bulbous, drinking my blood to its heart's content.

Sudden hatred wells up within me. How dare it? How dare it get fat off my blood? Off the essence of my life itself? How dare it just take and drain, to only leave me dry in return?

"AAAARGH! SCREW YOU!"

With a roar, and more force than I had before, I smash the bloodsucking worm into the tree's sturdy trunk again.

Die. Just dieeee–!

From within it, my blood explodes into a thousand needles, rending it from the inside out.

The worm ruptures with a disgusting squelch, before dissolving into blue dust, which evaporated into nothingness. Feeling slightly lightheaded, I lean myself against the tree, and slide down into a sitting position.

"Tennouji!" Inoue shouts again, rushing over.

In her hand was a lighter.

Oh, that was good thinking.

A normal leech would get repulsed by fire.

"Are you okay?!"

She spots the blood, and her face goes pale. Against my white jacket, the large stain makes it looks much worse than it actually is. "Don't worry," I say. "It's just some bloodsucking worm. Did you get a picture?"

"Well, yes–but that's not the point right now! Take off your jacket and let me see!"

Deciding that it would be faster to comply, I obey. She eyes the wound with a hard look, examining it for any traces of the worm left embedded, before seeing there was none. "D-Do you mind if I take a picture?"

I laugh. That was just so Inoue-like. "Go ahead. It'll make for a good scoop."

She photographs my wound, a small circle of punctures, before pouring a bit of water over it and cleaning it with a handkerchief. "It's no longer bleeding, but I don't know if I should still bandage it…"

"It's fine." I put my jacket back on. "Don't waste a bandage." I get back to my feet and retrieve the compass and map from where I had dropped them in my panic. "Let's keep going."

"But…"

"You came here for a reason, right? For a scoop? For the truth? Then let's keep going until we find it." I shoot her a smile, and her expression grows more certain.

"You're right." Inoue says. "It would be dumb to stop now, after we've got this far. Thanks, Tennouji."

~~[r]~~

The canopy above us got progressively denser as we made our way further in. Any casual conversation between myself and Inoue had also dried up–we were conserving our energy, focused solely on making the way to our destination.

Distance was deceptive. The hypothesized location of the buried pesticides may have been closer to the river's end than the river's end had been to our starting point, but the terrain was more uneven, and the foliage we had to push through also became thicker.

The strange presence that I had sensed previously was still there, sort of, flickering in and out of my awareness like a candle in a breeze. But with Inoue at my side, my anxiety was kept at bay.

However, it was not the only other thing I had to worry about.

Inoue and I both spotted it at about the same time.

"Keep quiet." I murmur to her.

"I know, I know."

"And don't forget to turn off the flash this time."

"Who are you to nag me more than my parents?"

A simple point and shoot, and then it was done. "Let's go," Inoue says. Her foot lands on a twig, which snaps dully.

Thankfully, I don't think the robed man heard us.

A man robed in black, escorting around a colourful ostrich, probably patrolling the forest.

…actually, who was I kidding?

That thing was definitely…a dinosaur. A velociraptor, to be more precise. A sky-blue, lemon-yellow, pomegranate-pink velociraptor.

I pray to every higher being I knew that I would never have to fight anything like that.

"Phew." I breathe a sigh of relief as the pair departed out of sight, in the direction from where we came. "Are you done?"

"Yeah. Let's keep going." Inoue nodded.

Had it been my imagination, or had the robed man turned his head this way?

I shake off my doubts and continued forward.

…but more rustling in the trees alerted my ears, but I didn't slow down my walk. Neither does Inoue.

More rustling.

It wasn't the same curious presence that I had felt earlier.

This was hunting intent. Predatory intent.

How many of them were there? Two? Three?

I speed up my walk. Inoue speeds up with me. "If anything happens," I say, not bothering to speak quietly at this point, "then just run. I'll draw them away from you."

"But–"

"You didn't argue the last time, so don't start now."

We reach a small clearing–

–and come face to face with a large, snarling hound, this one deep purple, with glowing eyes–

This one is different. This one is even stronger than the ones I saw before!

"RUN! Get out of here!" My mouth opens to shout.

In the same instant, hounds leapt from my left and right, a pincer maneuvre.

I don't hesitate. I rewrite myself.

With certainty, I knew that my current self would not survive.

Not just strength and speed. Also perception, reaction time–

The ability to detect threats. The ability to react to threats. The ability to protect another person, and not just survive yourself.

The changes wouldn't happen instantly, so I needed to buy more time.

Buy more time and draw them away–

I dodge laterally, into the gap between purple and black, and sprint.

Snapping jaws close in on the space which I departed.

I twist my head around and take in a snapshot of the scene.

Inoue running. Good.

No other dogs chasing her. Good.

Three hounds that were converging on me.

Not so good.

At that moment, a thought hits me.

I sidestep, deliver a right hook to one of the black hounds. It was barely fazed.

–Even if I drew them away and then disengaged, there was no guarantee that they wouldn't just leave, right?

They could just as easily come back. Return, and hunt down the both of us again–

The other two pounce on me.

Jaws clamp down on my limbs. Right arm, left arm, left leg.

A sound reminiscent of crunching fruit resounds through the forest.

I experience pain beyond belief.

It hurts. It hurts like all hell.

It hurts so much that I just want to puke my guts out.

It hurts so much that I just want to curl up.

To crawl somewhere and curl up, waiting for death to release me.

My mind diminishes, wiped blank by terror.

But I just needed to hold on. Hold on a while longer, until–

–Until I feel my power surge from within me.

Got you now, you stupid mutts!

My right fist slams into the dog intent on my left arm, a blow stronger than any other I've ever dealt in my life.

Both my fists tear through the dog gnawing on my left leg, and I'm free.

Hah, hah…

My body collapses onto the ground, spread-eagled. For a moment I could only hear the sound of my own breathing, and the sound of my own heartbeat, pounding away in my ears.

Slowly, as my head cleared, I tried to listen to the sounds of the forest.

With my improved perception, I could tell. There weren't any other dogs in the area.

For now. What if more come later?

I get up, and that's when I notice it.

Strange blue-green tendrils of light, coming out of my right forearm. The sight reminds me of seaweed undulating underwater, of paper streamers fluttering in the wind.

And beyond my right wrist…extended three blades of light, also glowing with that same green colour. Each of them was gently curved, maybe about fifty centimetres long.

That's right. How had my right arm been freed?

These things must have manifested, and blown the hound's head clean off.

But I'm sure…I never possessed this kind of power before.

Did I step on the accelerator too hard? No, that answer didn't seem right to me.

Besides, these things…they didn't feel like an extension of my body.

They felt more like objects grafted onto me. Like something someone attached to me without my knowledge.

In any case, this was no time to be pondering. I needed to make sure Inoue was safe.

But where would I even begin to find her?

"Tennou...ji?"

I turn around, and it was her. I nearly sink to my knees in relief. "You're all right!"

"Yeah. I am." Her words were hesitant, nervous. "So are you, it seems."

But why did she look so fearful? Why was she looking at me as if I could attack her at any moment?

Why was she keeping her distance?

I track her gaze, and follow it…to my right wrist.

To where there were tendrils of light, and blades of the same.

Oh.

As if in response to my intentions, the glow fades. The tendrils vanish, and the blades break off and crumble into dust, dispersing.

I look back up at Inoue, before very slowly raising my hands to head height, the universal gesture of surrender.

Inoue still looks to be frozen to the spot in fear.

"Inoue." I keep my voice as even as possible. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not going to make excuses either. But the truth is that I didn't even know I could make those things appear, not until I was attacked."

"Really, now?" Inoue says, still unmoving. "You're so sure you would never hurt me?"

"Yes." My voice was calm. "I could never hurt you. You're my friend. My rival in journalism. We investigated UMAs together in the forest, and had lunch together too. I made you tell me your first name as thanks and bought you a can of oolong tea. Please believe me."

Her face twists, a strange mix of expressions that I couldn't discern.

"Please, Inoue." I plead my case.

"...Ah, I've had enough of all this!" She voices frustration, before shaking herself and walking over to me. "Put down your hands. It's fine. I believe you."

For the second time, I exhale a sigh of relief. My arms collapse back to my sides like a castle of cards. "Are you hurt?" I ask, before noticing something. "Your hands!"

Her palms were scraped, and the skin slightly raw. "What did you do?"

"I climbed a tree," she says, somewhat sheepishly. "I couldn't think of anything else, and I didn't want to run elsewhere where I would get lost."

"I'm not sure if that counts as good thinking or not." From the looks of them, it seemed like the hounds could leap quite high if they wanted to. "How the hell did you even climb a tree?"

"The normal way."

I shoot her a disbelieving glance.

"Look, I used to be…a bit of a tomboy when I was young." Inoue says, a bit defensively. "And I won't complain, since it's useful to have on investigations."

"I don't know if I've said this already, but you really seem more impressive the more I get to know about you."

"Heh. Thanks."

We make our way back to the clearing where the wolves had first attacked us.

To my relief, the pack that I had shed in my escape was still lying on the ground. So was Inoue's rucksack, which had been stashed in some bushes before her climb.

It takes us a while before we finally realise what's missing.

"...the map." I look at Inoue.

"...the compass." Inoue looks right back at me.

We both burst out laughing at the same time.

Man, what a day. I escape being dog food through literal sheer luck, and then we find out we're lost without a way to navigate?

"This…" Inoue had tears in her eyes from laughing, "this really is…"

She breaks into another fit of laughter, before snapping to attention. "Wait!"

She rummages through her pockets, and whips out her phone.

"That's right," I say. "Your phone should still have…"

"Error. Unable to load map data. Connection not found. Unable to load position. Connection not found." Inoue reads off the error message, and slumps to the ground, leaning against her rucksack.

"You have got to be kidding me."

To have your hope and then have it be snatched away was more painful than having no hope at all in the first place.

I look up at the sky, which had began to darken. There was no way we were going to make it out by nightfall, then. "We should set up camp for the night," I suggest.

~~[r]~~

We found a spot slightly past the clearing where the wolves had attacked us. The clearing itself would have been better, but neither of us felt comfortable settling down right where we had been attacked, and it was probably safer to not do so, in any case.

"So, what exactly do we do?" I ask. "I know I suggested to set up camp, but I'm not familiar with the specifics."

"We could probably just unroll our sleeping bags and sleep right like that," Inoue says, "but if possible, I would like a bit more shelter. Maybe even a small fire…"

"Got it. I'll gather some firewood, then."

It was convenient. I wanted to test out my new ability.

If those blades could go right through one of those things, then maybe it could cut wood?

Responding to my thoughts, the blades manifest, and I make an experimental slash. The branch, about as thick as my arm, gets cleanly cut.

It really felt easier than slicing butter. If these things didn't infringe on the sword possession act, then nothing else I knew would.

I gather up the chopped wood. I also slice off some longer branches we could stack together to make a shelter.

"I'm back." I announce more out of courtesy than anything.

"I know. I could see that green glow when you were chopping wood."

Urk. I guess I should have been more discreet? "You're not, uh…"

"Hey, it helped you survive, and it's helping us now," Inoue says matter-of-factly. "I'm not going to complain, even if I find it weird. Hella weird."

Somehow, the comment stings mildly. "Urk."

"Don't worry about it, Tennouji."

In no time at all, we had a small fire going, and the both of us were seated in front of it, next to each other. A bit to our back was our makeshift shelter.

Inoue looked to be boiling some water.

"What for?" I asked.

"Cup noodles, of course."

Right. I recalled her saying that that was her favourite food.

But was this a wise use of our water? I looked at Inoue, who was happily unwrapping the plastic from two cups.

Well, if it comes to it, I could probably do something like use my enhanced perception to find a river. Yeah.

"But still…hmm." Inoue mused, as she watched the water warm in the mess tin. "Do you really not know anything about that claw of yours? Or those ribbons of light?"

Inoue's words seemed strange to me.

The first words that came to my mind upon seeing those things were "a set of blades". But on hearing her…of course it was a claw. There was no way it didn't look like a claw.

Was my perception incorrect? Was I actively–was my subconscious rejecting something on instinct?

And to call them ribbons–

Static runs through my mind, and I lurch sideways. Strange sweat runs down my back.

"Kotarou! Kotarou! No!"

"Tennouji?" Inoue's eyes widen, and she supports me. "Don't tell me–blood loss?"

Through my perception I could feel her heartbeat speed up, and I force myself out of my funk. "Ubebebebleh," I managed to get out.

She chuckles at the sound.

"I'm fine," I say, steadily, after righting myself. "Don't worry, it's not anaemia or anything. I'm just feeling tired."

"Don't joke around," Inoue says seriously. "If you collapse halfway while we're trying to get out–"

"I won't," I say. "I'll tell you if I'm really sick. But that really was me feeling lightheaded for a while. Sorry." I think about what happen, and I add another sentence. "And sorry for uh, leaning on you and all that."

"It's fine." Inoue says. She turns to the water, which was hot by now, and poured it into both noodle cups. "And now we wait."

"Thanks for all this, by the way." I gesture at the warm food being prepared. "I only brought rations."

"You defended me from a pack of wolves. This is nothing compared to that." She shakes her head. "And to think," she muttered, "this is the second time…"

"?"

"It's nothing." Inoue looks me in the eye. "I know it probably is ungrateful of me, considering that you just saved my life, but do you really not know anything about your special abilities? It could mean the difference between us getting out of here alive and not."

I hear the plural, and a chill runs down my spine. The claw was one, but the other…

No, it was impossible. I had never told a single soul about my accelerator.

"...what special abilities are you talking about?" I decide to fish.

"Don't play dumb at this stage, Tennouji." Inoue sounds stern. "I'm talking about that glowing claw of yours. And your ability to heal."

"Heal?" I question.

"I don't know if I should be relieved that you're as clueless as I am," Inoue sighs. "Look, you were bitten by three of those dogs. Quite badly, I think."

"Uh-huh."

"And somehow, your wounds have already closed, and you had literally no trouble walking or carrying things."

Involuntarily, I look to my arms and leg. She was right.

I remembered the sensation of those jaws biting into my flesh, almost into my bone, it felt. No ways wounds that severe would have healed that quickly.

But that could have been due to the green…ribbons…

Right?

"It's not just the dogs, either," Inoue adds. "I also noticed it earlier in the day, when you got attacked by the leech thing. I thought it was just a shallow wound then, but it seems it's more due to this power of yours."

Boy, Inoue was sharp.

But it seems like apart from the claw, and my rewrite, I had something else that I didn't even know about. Healing fast? Was that it?

Even so, that was not an ability that I wanted to test.

And what even are the odds that a single person would have not one, not two, but THREE different abilities? Was I some sort of destined hero or something?

No. I shoot down that line of thought right away. Someone as empty and weak as me shouldn't be a hero. And I didn't want to think that I was special, either.

In fact, today was just a reminder that I was as fragile as any other person.

"You better not be spending all that time in silence thinking of a lie, Tennouji." Inoue checks the cups, and peels back the wrapping further. A small wisp of steam escapes into the air. "The noodles are done. Eat up before they get soggy."

I do as she says. The warm noodles and soup heal my soul. "Yeah, I can see how this is your favourite food," I mutter. In a more serious tone, I continue speaking. "I really didn't know I could do either of those things before today. Please believe me."

That was technically the truth, but I still felt a twinge of guilt.

"Yeah, yeah." Inoue slurps more noodles. "I already made up my mind to trust you. I'll stick to that decision."

We both lapse into silence, simply staring the flickering of the small campfire.

…

"You know," I say, "if it weren't for the fact that we're literally lost in the forest right now, this would be pretty enjoyable."

"It IS pretty enjoyable," Inoue surprises me by saying. "I think it's fine to admit that." She glances up at the sky.

As far as we were from the city, light pollution was all but non-existent. Unfortunately, the cover of the trees meant that we could barely only see the stars.

"You have any hobbies, Tennouji?" She breaks the silence.

"Me? No," I say. My voice grows a bit sombre. "I don't really…have anything in particular I like doing. Not really. Maybe writing? I got a job to submit articles for Terra Monthly magazine, but I haven't even gotten one accepted…"

"Terra Monthly, huh?" Inoue muses. "They're nice people. I worked with them for a bit. If you want, I can give you some tips."

"I'll take you up on that," I say, noncommittally. She had, after all, already gave me pointers on my writing before.

"Yeah, feel free to ask me if you need help." Inoue nods. More of the soup and noodles disappear. "What about outdoor activities? I know you said you've never gone camping before, but you seemed quite proficient at everything today."

"I guess I just have some talent for this." It was a hard feeling to pin down, but I simply felt comfortable with hiking and orienteering and the like. Maybe I should pick it up as a real hobby? That was something else for consideration.

We finish the noodles and the soup, drink some more water, and go off to relieve ourselves in turns. We sit by the fire, and talk further.

A human exchange, to reassure ourselves that we're not alone in the wilderness.

Inoue tells me about her parents: her father, a systems engineer who loved the outdoors, and her mother, an office lady who liked photography. Apparently, that was how she got attained the know-how to plant bugs on people's phones, and the other technical knowledge about reporting aside. Not to mention the obvious outdoor skills.

I decide not to lie. I tell her about my own parents, both researchers working with Martel. I tell her about how rocky my relationship is with the both of them, and she nods.

"I understand," she says. "I've seen many cases."

"Yeah?"

"When searching for articles." She tells me about a case of child abuse she had uncovered. "I didn't publish anything about that, though. But I assembled enough evidence and presented it to the police. Apparently, the mother got arrested afterwards."

"That's incredible."

"It made me appreciate my own parents more. I think I'm someone that's really lucky, to be blessed with a loving family." Her expression becomes tight for a moment, and I knew she was thinking about them.

"Don't worry," I reassure her. "When you get home, I'll apologise together with you. Because I should have talked you out of this crazy affair."

"I might take you up on that." She stares into the fire some more. "So this is your true self, huh?"

I nearly jump out of my skin. "Excuse me?" Indignation seeps into my voice.

"This." She gestured at all of me. "How you are now. Moody and brooding. Nothing like how you were in school, when you were fooling around with Kanbe and…Yoshino?"

"Yeah, that's his name." I grunt. "And congratulations, you figured me out after all this interrogation. Want a prize?" I couldn't hide my bitterness.

That innocent comment had landed home, reached a part of me that I never wanted anybody to know about. Especially not her.

Because she was right. A hundred percent correct.

I…feared human relations. I feared that one day, everybody around me would suddenly disappear, and I would be left with nothing.

It's why I played the jester. To keep everyone around, because everyone likes somebody fun.

To keep everyone around–but also at arm's length.

"But that's not all," she quickly added. "You also care about people, right? You cared enough to just drop everything and come along, even when you could have easily sent me off with a 'please be careful!'"

"Not that easily." I managed to get out, schooling my expression. "And you…"

How was I supposed to put this?

"Well, I wouldn't accompany just about anyone on a forest expedition like this." I looked into the fire, which was dwindling into embers. That was the truth.

"I see." Inoue says. She seemed to be thinking about something. Many things. "I'm sorry. That was a thoughtless remark. And of course, I'm not going to write an article about you, or at least, not one without your approval."

I snort. "Don't worry. It's just something that hit a bad spot that I didn't expect. Also, we should get to sleep soon."

"Yeah. Can you," she stifles a yawn, "extinguish the fire?"

I press fine earth over the embers and smother them, leaving us in darkness. Then, I crawl into my sleeping bag under the makeshift shelter.

"...Hey, Inoue."

"What is it?" Her voice comes from my right in the pitch darkness. "Are you still mad about the–"

"I'm not." I reassure her. "But do you mind if I ask you a philosophical question?"

I should probably leave this for the next day. But she had been sharp enough to figure out my abilities…and my character.

Maybe this was the best time to get her opinion…while also avoiding her suspicion.

"Sure."

"What would you wish for, if you could make your wish come true?"

"I assume you don't mean the obvious 'get me out of her right now'." A chuckle sounds.

"Of course not."

"Hmm…that's a difficult one."

"I'll make it easier," I add. "If you change anything about yourself, what would you change?"

"Are you really…questioning me about my self-image at this time?"

"Like I said, it's more of a philosophical question." I deny her allegations.

"Well…hmm. I got it." She seems to have settled on something. "I want to…be smarter."

"As in, more intelligent?" I question.

"Yeah." The answer comes. "To think…my way out of anything. I've always liked…that sort of character. But…even more…than that…I want…to be braver."

"You seem courageous enough already, though." I say sincerely, looking straight up. "But maybe that's just because you're dumb?"

"Ha…ha ha. Very…funny," she says deadpan, her tone laced with sleepiness. "Besides…I'm not as brave…as you think…I am…"

She falls silent, and I cautiously tilt my head to look.

Out like a light.

Not that anyone would blame her.

Oh well. Guess I should go to sleep.

~~[r]~~

I wake up, feeling a distinct sense of confusion. For one, my bed was hard. And for another, my ceiling seemed to have been replaced with a row of branches.

Right.

I wasn't in my bedroom at all.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Inoue was sitting cross-legged, tapping away on her laptop, which was propped on her backpack.

"Good morning." I greeted her as if it was the most normal thing in the world to do. "What are you doing?"

"Recording our adventure." Inoue says cheerfully, before her face turned a bit more serious. "In case something happens to us, and we don't make it out alive."

"That's heavy."

"Sync complete. Here." She hands me a small memory stick. Or was it memory card? "Your copy. Just in case."

I take it and slide it into the depths of my pocket. "What's on it."

"Everything. That robed man. All the monsters we discovered."

"Monsters, huh?"

After yesterday's experiences, I felt that that was a more than appropriate term.

We pack up (though that only entailed rolling up our sleeping bags) and leave.

We don't bother to knock down the shelter, nor sweep away the ashes. And even though it was littering, the trash was left behind. Hopefully, these would help rescuers track us down, if they came searching.

"What's the plan?" she asks.

"I was about to ask you the same thing, actually." I flapped the jacket tied around my waist in the air, getting rid of dust, and retied it. "I know it sounds crazy, but do you still want to try finding the site of the buried pesticides?"

"You know…I was considering that." Inoue says. "But then I realised it was dumb, since we might not even be able to recognise when we had reached the place, now that we're lost and all."

"You're right."

I think to myself. What now? "In that case, let's try retracing our steps for the time being. Go back the way we came."

"Sounds good."

Our walk back to civilization began.

"How much food do you have on you?" I ask.

"Four…no, three days worth."

"I have about the same." I try to think of a plan. Water would probably be more of a concern. "Our long-term goal is to get out of the forest. And our short-term goal is to find water. And our shortest-term goal is to not die."

"I like the sound of that," Inoue says happily.

We continue walking.

I focus on my rewritten perception to check for anything that could be a problem, but I sensed nothing.

Come to think of it, I had been lucky that there were no side-effects. If I made my hearing more sensitive, something like a soft sound could have kept me up all night. Perhaps my brain had adapted relatively quickly.

I stopped in my tracks.

"What's wrong?"

"Do you recognise this place?" I ask Inoue.

"Not really. I'm trusting you to navigate."

"Hey, you need to pull your weight too," I joke. "But seriously. When we left camp, we were walking in the correct direction, right?"

"Yes." She confirms my thoughts. "I think that we've been backtracking correctly, too. At least, up until now."

I was certain that we had came from this way. But the scenery looked completely different, even accounting for the fact that I was looking at it from the opposite direction.

Did I screw up? I didn't think so. But the alternative was that…

The forest was changing?

"That's crazy…" I mutter to myself quietly.

"What is?" she asks immediately. "If you think something's up, just say it. Don't keep your thoughts to yourself. We're in this together."

"I think the forest might be changing." I speak my mind.

Inoue pauses. "You know, that is indeed crazy."

"You told me to speak my mind!" I protest.

"I'm not making fun of you," Inoue says seriously. "It's just…if monsters exist, what other supernatural things do? Oh, and step out of the way for a moment, would you?"

She snaps a picture. It was a horned beetle…except that it was purple, and twice the size of my fist.

…It appears that unless you are actively paying attention, heightened senses isn't all that good.

In a flash, my claw was out, and had stabbed through the beetle into the trunk of the tree it was on.

Inoue gives me a look.

"Sorry. I thought it might try to harm us or something."

"No, that's fair." She doesn't reproach me. "Better safe than sorry."

We pick our best guess at 'south' and continue walking, given that we entered the forest to the north of the city. If we had headed deeper in we could have tried to circle around the mountain, to get on to the old forest road and follow it out, but that was a longer route...probably.

I pay attention to my senses and try to find running water. If we did, we could follow it downstream.

It was a while before our next anomaly: a shimmering mass in the air.

"I don't see anything," Inoue says. "But…"

She snaps another photo. The image showed a round-ish furred creature, with two fearsome tusks. A boar? A mammoth?

Weren't mammoths extinct?

"So it's another one of those," Inoue mutters. It seemed she was going into her investigator mode. "Fooling human eyes, but not cameras."

"You mentioned that to me before, right?"

"Yeah." She ran a hand through her hair. "But I've never seen this sort of camouflage on a creature this large."

As we walk, we make find after find. We avoid the larger monsters, and I slay the smaller ones with my claw. After the leech incident, we weren't going to underestimate any of these things.

Inoue's mind seemed to be on overdrive. "Two types," she mutters. "One based on existing animals, like the dogs and insects. The other…extinct animals? Mythological creatures? And they all don't leave remains…are they man-made or something?"

Better than her panicking, I think to myself.

I pick up on the faint trickle of running water, and we chose to head towards that.

Along the way, we saw more robed men, and we hid until they left.

"This is too big," she says to me. Her tone was soft. "It's a cult. A large organization. And they're operating right under everyone's noses…"

"I thought government conspiracies were more my area." I joke.

"Consider my eyes opened to the truth, Tennouji." Her tone was grave. "I don't think…I don't know if we'll be able to publish anything when we get back. This might run deeper than anything I've ever seen before."

'We', huh?

"Didn't you say once before that even the assassination wasn't enough to stop you?" I paraphrase.

Her jaw sets into a stubborn expression. "I did. That's why we're going to make it out of here alive. I didn't come in to the forest to die."

I gave her a silent nod, and she understands.

We make it to a small stream. I was about to fill my canteen, but then Inoue stops me, a hand on my wrist. "There might be chemicals and diseases and stuff."

Right. I forgot.

I instead opt to fill the other small plastic bottle I had with me. We could boil it later to drink if we needed to.

As I crouch down to scoop, I notice something in the soil. "Are these tracks?"

"Seems like it." Inoue confirms my suspicion. "But if they are…let's just get the water and get out of here."

She, of course, also photographs the tracks. Strange footprints that did not belong to any animal we knew.

Once we were far enough, she explains. "They might have been using the stream to navigate, following it up or down."

"Which means it might be dangerous to follow the stream ourselves." I come to the same conclusion as her.

Damn.

"Let's just go in the general direction," I suggest. With my senses, I could just ensure that we didn't get off-track by pinpointing the direction of the sound of running water.

~~[r]~~

The sun was high in the sky when we took a break for lunch. Inoue once again tapped away at the keyboard, snack bar in hand, while I kept lookout like I always did.

"Give it to me", she says suddenly.

"Give what?"

"The memory card. I need to update its contents."

I fished it out from my pocket, and she plugged it in. Watching her start typing once more, I ask my question. "Is this really necessary?"

"It's more necessary than it was since we woke up." Inoue was unperturbed. "Especially now that a government conspiracy might be involved. Even if we're left alive, they might still try to supress us. For example, by confiscating all my equipment, or wiping all of our data. We need to make backups. Redundancies."

"Fair point." She's really thinking ahead.

Which means I should, too.

I glance up at the skies.

The canopy filtered out most of the sunlight, leaving the forest floor relatively cool. Unfortunately, it was still humid, and the ground-level foliage got so thick at times I had to whip out my claw. Handy thing, that was.

So far today we were lucky to have avoided any incidents, but we couldn't afford to have any more run-ins like we did yesterday, not with our food and water dwindling.

I back down again at Inoue, and I make my decision.

It's something I thought about before. A slow starter like myself isn't suited for combat.

But this situation, even if danger wasn't imminent, was a matter of life and death.

And, even with the sudden appearance of my claw being a counterexample, the idea of new powers awakening in do-or-die situations never sat right with me. Those that chose to fight had to be strong from the start.

But that was also a problem. Unless you could predict the future, you would never know exactly how strong you would need to be.

Just a bit, then. The tiniest drop. Small increments.

"I've always liked that sort of character."

I step on the accelerator.

What even was a smart person?

The ability to solve problems? What, then was the ability to solve problems?

If you practised hard and long enough, you could learn to do…well, not anything, but most things.

Speed, then. Thinking fast.

And creativity. Making connections, drawing conclusions.

I visualize, and rewrite myself, my mind–

–and I'm met with a searing headache.

"-Tennouji? Tennouji? Are you okay?"

Who was talking to me? Right, it was Inoue. Inoue Akira, Second-Year of Kaza High, Class 2-A, member of the Newspaper Club, who liked cup noodles and oolong tea–

With a colossal effort, I wrench my head out from where it had been resting in my hands, and forced my eyes wide open to stare out at the forest.

Unfortunately, no sudden inspiration struck me.

"Tennouji Kotarou!"

I blinked. "Sorry, Inoue."

"For the gods' sakes, can you not space out like that? You're worrying me."

"Sorry." I apologise again. "I'm…I was resting my eyes a bit."

"If you're tired," her tone becomes gentler, "we can rest for a while longer."

"No, I'm fine. Honest truth." I stand up and stretch, before gingerly accepting the memory card back from Inoue.

…Unfortunately, making myself smarter didn't seem to result in any immediate changes.

Did I screw up and waste my engine oil?

Come to think of it, that was the first time I ever tried to rewrite my mind. I really feel as if it was something that I could have thought about sooner. Then again, my grades had never really bother me back in the past.

I put the thoughts out of my mind and focus on the present. I could acutely feel that I used up a bit of my fuel, so I definitely changed myself. That was for certain.

Well, nothing to do but wait and see.

We continue to walk, following the stream from a distance. We avoid more robed men, encounter the fossilized remains of a giant snake, which had a body thicker than some of the bigger trees in the forest, and jaws big enough to easily swallow me whole.

It reminded me of the time the Occult Club found fossils that turned out to be a props for some show.

Then again, Inoue had been the one to say that it might have been too convenient an explanation.

Perhaps she was actually more of a conspiracy nut than I was.

"Stop a moment." I raise a hand, and Inoue does so. "More dogs."

They were some distance away, but I still didn't want to risk it. Two black hounds, and a man in a black robe.

A summoner and their familiars.

My head begins to pound, and I clench my jaw. This was no time to lose focus.

Worse still, that mysterious presence was back. It was far away enough for now, but still.

It was a presence that I absolutely, definitely did not want to meet.

To encounter it would mean death on the spot.

"Tennouji, are you okay? Your expression looks very severe."

"I'm sorry." I apologise again, for what seemed like the umpteenth time in a row. The summoner had already moved past us.

"If I have to ask if you're okay one more time, I'll…"

"You'll?" I poke a bit of fun at her, hoping to lighten the mood.

"I'll…I can't think of anything right now, but there will be consequences," she bravely declared.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll do my best. Sorry."

"And stop apologising."

"Sor–I mean, yes ma'am."

"Very funny."

The byplay lightened my mood, and I looked around once more.

Unfortunately, 'it' was still there, right on the edge of my awareness.

"Inoue," I ask, "can you feel anyone following us?"

She takes me seriously. "No. Not really."

"Not really? So you mean…"

"I'm not sure if I'm just feeling jumpy, but I did get the feeling that something was following us earlier. Maybe." Inoue was hesitant.

"Damn it." I curse out loud.

What could we do?

Speed up? We were already tired as is.

Go back and try to intercept? Merely thinking of it was already enough to terrify me.

No. There was no choice but to simply pray.

Inoue simply looks at me with concern.

"Never mind. Let's just keep going." I get the words out.

Our footsteps make quiet grinding noises on the forest floor. I find myself thankful that neither of us had holes in our shoes.

"Why did you want to go into the forest on Sunday? Couldn't it have waited?" I ask. Talking seemed like the best method to make myself less anxious.

"It couldn't." Inoue answers a question which I had been curious about. "It had to be as soon as possible. Under the new regulations, it'll be harder than ever to access the forest." Her expression hardens. "Knowing what's going on, they're definitely wary. It feels as if…something is going to happen soon."

So much for making my anxiety go away. "Well, the Harvest Festival is coming soon."

"In other words, it's time for us to get busy." Inoue cheers up. "Lots of things to report on."

I tilt my head. "Anzai–I mean, my editor, he said about the same thing. Are there really that many things to write about?"

"Well, you have a lot of events spread out across the city for quite a few days. And there's also lead-up articles where we go around compiling what everyone's looking forward to, or what stalls people intend to set up, that sort of thing."

She goes on happily about the articles she wrote last year, and the year before that. I let her words wash over me like a comforting rain.

Above us, the sky slowly darkens to orange, and then purple.

Unfortunately, following the stream seemed to be leading us nowhere, and I could still feel that presence nearby. In fact, if my senses weren't lying, it actually seemed to be getting closer.

Maybe we should stop soon. It's getting dark.

And that wasn't the only thing. The air itself seemed to be stirring with a strange breeze.

–-and then, looking up at the sky, I spot it.

A strange, undulating shape blocks out the moon. A silhouette which belonged to a creature that shouldn't be existing.

Beside me, Inoue lets out a sharp intake of breath.

There was no mistaking this for a real animal. Not like those hounds, which could have been bred dogs. Not like those insects, which could have had been genetic mutations.

And I had seen it before. That giant, flying creature.

Mythical. Supernatural.

A dragon.

And…

What I thought had been feathers…had actually been leaves.

A leaf dragon.

A creature composed of plants.

A torso, a head, a tail, four limbs, and a pair of wings…all made out of plants.

It sways in the air, like some sort of grotesque, deformed balloon.

The pair of wings spread open like a giant kite, and it descends slowly.

Despite everything, despite knowing what I should do, my feet remain frozen, unmoving. My voice, silenced.

The dragon turns its eyeless head to appraise us.

Me, a tree rooted to the ground. And Inoue, desperately holding on to my arm, a small animal seeking shelter from an impending storm.

Just so slightly, the dragon's neck twitches.

Time slows to a crawl. I begin moving.

"Aaah!" My rival cries as I shove her to the ground roughly. My left arm, raised to the heavens to block, intercepts something, and I feel a dull pain.

Blood, my blood, splashes onto Inoue's face.

"Run!" I shout at her, who was still lying on the ground. "GET OUT OF HERE!"

She scrambles to her feet. "Your arm, Kotarou!"

"It's fine! Just get out of here!"

I turn my head to look at my arm. A tube?

I follow the tube with my eyes, where it led to the dragon's mouth.

A proboscis. In other words, a very large straw.

A very large straw, which was trying to drain me from the inside.

Mind-numbing pain assaults me in my arm, and I let out an involuntary growl.

If it had only been pain, I may have been able to endure it. But there was also a very sickening, repulsive feeling. The feeling of having your blood and flesh sucked out.

Like I would let it end like this! The thought in my mind was a bestial roar–

–and every beast has its claws.

Blades of pale green, the colour of the northern lights, and fluttering like the same, extend.

In an instant, I slice through the tube, a hot knife through butter.

The shattered straw retracts back into the dragon's mouth, like stretched elastic let go.

It doesn't seem to feel pain. I coldly assess the creature.

Fighting an enemy which showed no reaction might be harder than expected.

But we didn't need to fight. We just needed to escape.

I tear off the remnants of the tube stuck in my left

Inoue waves at me from the shadows. I run to her, and we run together.

But the dragon was already on the pursuit.

Did you know? The tip of a whip travels faster than sound. That is what produces the crack.

So too did the dragon's tail come for us, a deadly supersonic force.

But I could sense it. I could dodge it.

I shove Inoue out of the way once more and leap aside myself, leaving the appendage to only cut through air, to only slam on empty ground.

"Go another way!" I shout at her, and she disappears into the darkness once again.

…sure was nice to have someone that didn't argue.

I run in the opposite direction to Inoue's. Our paths, from where we had came, now drew a 'T'.

The dragon pursues me like a monkey, swinging from tree to tree with its limbs and tail. The sound of branches breaking, of wood falling, echoes through the forest.

I couldn't run forever, and there was no help coming.

Thus, the only option left was to counterattack.

But there was no time to rewrite myself further. I had to make do with what I had.

All of my physical parameters were already better than the average human's, but would it be enough?

I just had to hope it was.

Now, I just needed to decide on a plan.

…It would probably be the wisest to go for the head. That was where the brain, or a similar cluster of nerves, was located in most animals.

That was my target.

I pick the sturdiest tree in my field of vision, and run towards it. I was about to perform a maneuver that I had last done during childhood, only now I was heavier.

Needless to say, I only had one chance.

The dragon closes in, and bounds at me.

I run up the side of the tree at full speed, and leap off it.

The dragon's momentum draws it closer to me.

Reach it. I roar in my mind. REACH ITTTT–!

Three blades of the aurora's light pierced the leaf dragon's skull.

I held on tight with left hand, and just stabbed with my right. Again and again and again, like a frenzied wild animal, lashing out.

Like a cornered rat, biting the cat, sinking in its jaws as if there was going to be no tomorrow, as if the only moment that mattered was now–

The dragon convulses and shakes, and my weakening grip fails. I land painfully onto the floor.

And in the next moment, I am overwhelmed by a terrifying presence.

A presence that swept everything away, just through its existence alone.

The dragon splits into two, along with the trees it had tried to coil around.

The trees sway and crash into the ground.

The dragon's two halves dissolve into dust and vanish in the wind.

"It" had arrived.

"It" was something beyond my comprehension. A superior form of life, the gap between us greater than an ant was from a human.

It was absolute. It was terminal.

Power beyond humanity, a divine spirit descended from the heavens.

If I had been standing, I would have fallen to my knees. As I was, lying on the ground, I could only convulse in sheer terror.

It didn't matter that the visual information I was receiving was telling me that it looked like a young girl, with short white hair and a black dress. My primal senses, my senses that predated sight, were all screaming at me, a cacophony of alarm, telling me to flee, telling me to fight–

"KOTAROU! KOTAROU!"

A familiar voice calls my name.

No! Run away! I try to cry out, but my mouth could no longer form words. My eyes stare dully at the night sky.

"It" was still there.

I could feel my mind running wild. All my limbs were trembling uncontrollably.

I needed to reject it. Reject it. Reject it.

Reject it. Reject it. Reject it. Reject it. Reject it.

Kill it. Kill it. Kill it. Kill it.

Kill it kill it kill it kill it–

Kill it before it kills me–

Arms grab me, wrap around me in a hug, and my mouth finally finds itself able to form words, to issue warning. "It…it…it's going to–!"

And then I was silenced.

Silenced, by a pair of lips that pressed on mine. Warm and soft and tender.

They parted from me, and I heard a voice. The same familiar voice, a comforting voice. It seemed to be defending me.

"Leave. Get out of here!"

I felt myself being lowered to the ground gently, before the voice spoke again.

"I don't know what you want with him, but you can't have him. He's mine! Now get the hell out of here! Go! GO! JUST LEAVE!"

Slowly but surely, the presence recedes. The terror in my heart, too, begins to subside.

I find myself being cradled again, my head in someone's arms. Tears, warm tears, were falling onto my face. No sobbing. Just silent tears, being shed.

I couldn't…I shouldn't let someone cry like that.

Slowly, I force my limbs to move. Slowly, I stand up.

"Kotarou…"

"We can't stay here." I robotically say.

There were many other things I wanted to tell her, but all of those could wait. We weren't out of danger yet.

Mechanically, I take her hand, follow the path of broken trees back to our dropped supplies.

It was a damn miracle that we still had everything. I would have expected some familiar to have torn through it by now.

I shoulder both packs, and scoop Inoue into my arms, a princess carry.

"What–"

"Just be quiet for a moment."

I close my eyes, and rewrite myself.

I make a vow to myself that this was the last time I would rewrite myself in this forest. I knew that even in situations as dire as this, I should never, EVER use that that ability lightly.

But I could see no other way out. People would surely come and investigate after that giant commotion. People that would no doubt silence us.

Finally, I take a deep breath, and sprint through the forest, the night sky above us.

~~[r]~~

I have no notes for these, except to say that I had to spilt the chapter in two because it was getting too long. If bits and pieces seem familar, those were the parts that I was closely referencing the VN.

Next time: escape, and then consequences.

Review please!