The walk after leaving the sweet shop was quiet.
Too quiet.
The eastern forest could be reached in four or five hours on foot, and during the entire journey, nothing particularly unusual happened.
No conversation.
No distractions.
Only silence stretches between them with every step.
And by the time they arrived, the sun had already begun to descend beyond the horizon, staining the sky in fading shades of orange and gold.
---
Before entering the forest, Kagerou came to a stop.
Slowly, he turned toward Kanae.
"...How are you feeling, Kanae?"
The question broke the silence at last.
Kanae looked at him briefly before answering.
"I'm fine"
Short.
Simple.
But not cold.
Kagerou gave a small nod.
"Good"
His hand moved toward his waist.
With a quiet metallic sound, he drew his ninjato from its sheath.
"From here on, stay close to me," he said calmly, his gaze shifting toward the forest ahead. "We're entering enemy territory. We don't know when the demon will appear, so stay alert"
"I know"
Kanae answered just as quietly as she drew her Nichirin blade.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Then Kagerou raised his kiseru for one final inhale.
A slow breath escaped his lips.
The smoke drifted upward… twisting strangely through the air, almost as though it too sensed the unnatural presence lurking within the forest.
"...Alright"
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Let's go"
And with that, the two of them stepped forward into the darkness beneath the trees.
While far deeper within the fother... Something awakened.
------
Deep within the eastern forest, the trees grew so densely that they formed a labyrinth of wood and shadow.
Their massive canopies intertwined high above, sealing the sky itself away. Even the fading light of dusk could no longer penetrate the forest floor.
Too dark. Too quiet... Unnaturally quiet.
Not even the sound of insects remained.
Then… Movement.
Beneath the largest tree in the forest, where twisted roots rose from the earth like the grasping fingers of something long dead, Tsukikage slowly opened his eyes.
The darkness around him shifted faintly.
Like a predator sensing approaching prey, a dangerous light flickered within his gaze.
Silence lingered for a moment longer.
Then his lips curved upward.
Too wide.
Too unnatural to be called a smile.
"...Another lost child seeking salvation"
His voice was soft, almost gentle.
And somehow, that made it far worse.
The shadows around him began to distort.
Flickering.
Breathing.
Then, without a sound, the darkness swallowed him whole.
------
- With Kagerou and Kanae.
The two of them had already ventured deep into the forest.
Far deeper than ordinary travelers would ever dare go.
The moon hung high above, yet its light barely reached the ground, falling only in scattered fragments across the forest floor.
It wasn't enough, never enough, when everywhere else was swallowed by darkness.
---
Kagerou continued walking at the front, his pace steady, his grip firm around the hilt of his ninjato. He never allowed his steps to stop for too long.
Because ever since they entered this forest... Something had been watching them.
Not directly.
Not visibly.
But constantly.
It felt as though countless unseen eyes lingered just beyond the edge of their vision, hidden between the trees, buried inside the shadows.
Watching.
Waiting.
The sensation clung to his skin like cold water.
Even the darkness behind them no longer felt empty.
It felt alive.
As though the shadows themselves were following a few steps behind, stretching and twisting whenever they weren't looking directly at them.
More than once, Kagerou glanced over his shoulder to check on Kanae.
Not only to make sure she was still there… But because a part of him feared what might happen if he looked away for too long.
What if the thing behind him stopped being Kanae?
What if something else had already taken her place?
The deeper they walked, the less the forest resembled a real forest.
It felt… wrong.
Not because of what they could see.
But because of what they couldn't.
No insects.
No chirping.
No distant cries of nocturnal animals.
No rustling hidden beneath bushes.
No movement in the leaves despite the wind they could feel brushing against their skin.
Nothing.
The entire forest was silent.
Not naturally silent.
But oppressively silent.
As though every living creature had fled long ago… or had been forced into silence by something lurking deeper within.
Only the sound of their footsteps remained.
Soft crunches against damp soil and fallen leaves.
And even those sounds felt distorted.
Muffled.
Swallowed almost immediately after they appeared, as if the darkness itself was consuming every trace of noise around them.
Kagerou's grip around his ninjato tightened slightly.
His eyes never stopped moving.
Left.
Right.
Behind.
Above.
Every shadow looked deeper than it should.
Every tree felt too close.
And behind him… Kanae's presence.
He kept checking.
Again.
And again.
Not out of distrust toward her.
But because the forest itself had begun to distort his sense of certainty.
At one point, he glanced back.
Kanae was still there, walking calmly behind him, katana lowered but ready, her butterfly-patterned haori faintly visible beneath the fractured moonlight.
A breath escaped him quietly.
Still there.
Yet even then… something felt off.
"...Kanae," he called softly.
"Hm?"
Her voice came immediately.
Normal.
Gentle.
And yet Kagerou didn't answer right away.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"...Say something"
Kanae blinked once.
"What do you mean?"
"Anything"
A small silence followed.
Then Kanae sighed softly.
"...You're acting strange"
Kagerou stared at her for another second longer before finally turning forward again.
"...Yeah," he muttered quietly. "Maybe I am"
But his instincts refused to settle.
Thenm, the shadows behind the trees shifted.
No.
Not shifted.
Breathed.
His pace slowed slightly.
And the moment it did... A sound echoed somewhere deep within the forest.
Not loud.
Not clear.
A faint crack.
Like a branch snapping beneath someone's foot.
Both of them stopped instantly.
Silence.
Kanae adjusted her stance slightly, blade raising just a fraction.
"...Left side," she whispered.
Kagerou didn't answer immediately.
Because he heard it from the right.
His eyes sharpened.
"...No"
*crack*
Another crack.
This time behind them.
Kanae turned sharply.
Nothing there.
Only trees.
Only darkness.
Then... A whisper.
"...Found you"
Kagerou's eyes widened.
The voice came from directly beside him.
He swung instantly.
*Slash!*
His blade cut cleanly through empty air.
Smoke-like shadows scattered from the swing before dissolving into nothingness.
"...Tch"
His breathing remained steady, but the pressure inside his chest worsened.
Not fear.
Instinct.
Something was wrong with the space around them itself.
Kanae stepped closer almost unconsciously until their shoulders nearly aligned.
"...It's trying to confuse our senses," she said quietly.
"I know"
Another whisper came.
Farther away this time.
Soft laughter followed.
Then another voice.
"...Why are you looking over there?"
Kagerou froze.
Because the voice sounded exactly like Kanae.
But Kanae hadn't spoken.
Slowly, very slowly… he turned his head slightly.
Kanae was beside him.
Silent.
Her expression tightened when she realized it too.
Then... Another Kanae stood several meters ahead between the trees.
Moonlight touched her gently.
Same face.
Same eyes.
Same butterfly haori.
Smiling softly.
"...Rengoku-san," the second Kanae said gently. "Why are you ignoring me?"
The real Kanae's breath caught slightly.
Kagerou's expression hardened instantly.
"...Don't look at it"
The fake Kanae tilted her head.
"Hm? That's cruel"
Then another figure appeared behind a tree.
Kagerou.
Leaning lazily against the trunk with a kiseru between his lips.
"...You're getting slow," the fake Kagerou said with a faint smirk. "Can't even tell which one's real anymore?"
More shapes emerged.
Distorted.
Incomplete.
Walking between shadows that should not have been able to contain human forms.
The forest itself began to feel crowded.
Kanae's grip tightened around her katana.
"...This isn't illusion alone," she whispered.
"No," Kagerou answered quietly.
His eyes narrowed slowly.
"It's manipulating perception itself"
Another laugh echoed.
This time from everywhere at once.
Above.
Behind.
Beside them.
And then... Darkness shifted high among the branches overhead.
A figure sat there casually, one leg hanging loosely as pale moonlight touched his face.
Long black hair.
A smile too calm to be human.
Eyes reflecting something endless.
Tsukikage looked down at them with quiet amusement.
"...Interesting," he murmured softly.
His gaze lingered on Kagerou first.
Then Kanae.
Then both together.
"...Two children trying not to lose sight of each other"
The shadows around the branches twisted slowly beneath him like living things.
And Tsukikage smiled wider.
"...Let's see, how long until one of you mistakes the other?"