To The Stars | Tokito Muichiro x OC

23 • Forest of the Undead

"Caw! Mission! Mission!" Kanamaru perched himself on top of Inori's head as per usual, cawing for the whole world to hear. "To the west! You have a joint mission!"

"With who?" Inori paid for her meals, exiting the diner as she walked out of the town. She covered her mouth as a yawn escaped her lips. "Stars, I'm too tired for this."

·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚☆.｡.☆.｡.:*☆ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙

Death-attracting Forest.

That was what the locals called the forest. There have been many urban legends and ghost tales regarding the forest, but most, if not all, leading up to death. That was why the forest was called the forest that attracted death.

"They say that if you feel a strong urge to go into the forest, that means you'll die, and nobody can change that." The old lady from the tea shop placed a hand on her wrinkled cheek, sighing dejectedly. "It's been happening a lot recently, and you can hear screaming every night. Once the mist comes, everyone closes their doors and windows. They're all too scared to even come close to the forest now."

"Is that so?" Inori hummed, placing the teacup down. The tea was too bitter for her taste. "And yet, people still willingly go into the forest, huh? Sounds suspicious."

"Dear, wouldn't it be better for you to leave? That forest is beautiful, but it's not worth the risk," the old lady said, concern etched on her elderly face. "You're still young. You can visit this forest another time, maybe when you find a boyfriend to go with."

"Well, there are people going missing almost every night here, right?" Inori sipped the tea. Despite how bitter it felt in her mouth, she really didn't want to waste the drink. She almost gagged at the taste, but held it in. "Then, it's part of my job to investigate it, so please don't hold back if you know something."

A sudden commotion from outside grabbed the attention of the two women. Lifting pulled the curtains to the side, Inori deadpanned at the sight before her. "Oh, stars."

Sanemi was scaring the villagers, particularly the children and women, with his naturally aggressive expression and scars. She could tell the Wind Pillar was a bit taken aback by their reaction, despite him claiming to be used to it.

"Shinazugawa-san! Shinazugawa-san!" Inori called out, beaming when she caught his attention. She beckoned him to come closer. "You're finally here. I thought you wouldn't arrive until nightfall. I already have some information, so come here."

"Brat." Sanemi ruffled her hair in greeting.

Inori had to reassure the old lady that Sanemi was, in fact, her friend and not some creep trying to kidnap her. She had to request a little privacy from the villagers who were worried. It would've been funny if it wasn't Sanemi who they were judging. The Wind Pillar may not look like it, but he was a bit taken aback by their judgmental eyes.

"They're probably stressed." Inori huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "People have been going into the forest of their own will every night, and no matter how much they try to stop them, they would eventually enter the forest and never come out. They're too scared to investigate, especially since those sent also went missing."

Toying around with her teacup, Inori sighed. "They also said that mist comes out every night. This is the mountain area, so mist at night isn't weird, but I don't think it's unrelated," she told the Wind Pillar. "Either way, the villagers are too scared to investigate. So, they just settled on preventing, not that they're having much success."

"Don't mind them." Sanemi waved her irritation off, sipping his own tea. "But the fact that people are willingly going into the forest is weird. Any other information?"