Konna

~Chapter 2~

Days turned into weeks. Before long, a month had already passed. The seasons began to change from summer to autumn. The temperature had dropped and days had become shorter. Tree leaves started to change colour from a lush green to a burgundy red. Stray golden leaves rested on the surrounding soil, fluttering in the wind. In a few weeks, the entire forest would be of different shades of gold, red and orange. On this particular day, the wind was very bitter and cold. Walking in front of me was Renna who was rubbing her hands, trying to keep warm. She wore a black hoodie, ripped black jeans and a fluffy grey scarf. Her green hair was fastened into a ponytail that occasionally swayed in the wind.

"Damn it's so cold today. You can tell winter is coming soon." I nodded in agreement and looked up. It was a beautiful clear day with no clouds. The sky was a light blue with only the golden sun. The sunshine provided temporary warmth on my cold face. A harmony of bird tweets echoed in the background. Noticing that I was falling behind, I jogged over to Renna.

"Oi Kocho, stop getting distracted and help me gather some firewood. You want to gather small branches and scraps from maple trees like this one." Renna pointed to a tree. It was the tallest maple tree in the woods. There were beautiful red leaves that adorned its brown branches. I gave a thumbs up and walked off. In the distance I heard Renna shout "come back to this tree when you're done!"

Staring at the ground, I picked up branches and scraps that had fallen from the surrounding trees. I used my skirt as a basket to carry them all. As I walked deeper into the forest, I noticed the number of trees started to decrease and the sky above opened up. Curious, I walked further ahead before standing still. I gasped from surprise. Before me there was a large lake in the shape of an hourglass. It reflected like a mirror the blue sky above. On either side of the lake was the dense forest in a multitude of colours: red, green, orange and yellow. The sight was beautiful. I made a mental note of the location. Turning around, I saw the beautiful maple tree in the distance. It swayed from side to side, dancing with the wind. Realising it was starting to get late, I traced my steps back to the large maple tree. As I approached closer, I noticed Renna was sitting at the base of the tree. Her eyes were closed, and she rested her head against the tree. Hearing the sound of snapping tree branches, she opened her eyes and looked at me.

"Kochoooo! There you are." Renna paused and asked in confusion, "why are you carrying the branches like that?"

I tilted my head in puzzlement. Renna tapped a ring on her index finger. Suddenly, the twigs I had collected vanished.

"Eh!?" I dejectedly looked at Renna. "I'm sorry"

"Why on earth are you sorry Kocho?"

"The twigs.. they vanished."

"That's because I stored them inside of this ring silly." Renna pointed to the ring. "This is a storage device that can store any non-living thing. This particular ring can store up to 5 squared meters. It's pretty convenient eh? Did you not know about this?"

I shook my head in response. Renna took off the ring and passed it to me. I inspected it carefully. However, to me, it only looked like a normal silver ring. Feeling bamboozled I stared at Renna with an unimpressed look.

"It uses spatial magic. To use it you must focus on imagining you are peering into a space to see inside."

"That's rather abstract," I said bluntly.

"Try. Close your eyes and imagine you are looking inside. With practice, it will become second nature to you." I followed Renna's instructions and focused on trying to peer inside the ring. To my surprise, I saw a box like room in my mind's eye filled with twigs and other miscellaneous items. I opened my eyes from shock.

"Thank you for teaching me" I bowed in respect. I then handed the ring back. Renna chuckled. Remembering there was somewhere I wanted to show Renna, I tugged at her sleeve.

Confused Renna asked "What's up?"

"Follow me." Holding onto Renna's sleeve, I navigated my way through the forest back to the lake I had discovered earlier. As we were making our way over to the lake, the sun was starting to set.

"Sooo where are we going?" Renna questioned.

"Somewhere," I responded.

Renna laughed at my ambiguous answer. I continued to drag Renna with me. Not long after, we arrived at the lake. The horizon was golden and the rest of the sky had began to darken into a deep blue. The sun gave the impression it was sinking into the lake. Stars started to peak through the darkening sky, sparkling like gems.

"It's breathtakingly beautiful. Thank you for bringing me here," Renna flashed me a dazzling smile.

I smiled back briefly.

"Oh my god! The stone faced Kocho smiled!"

"You need glasses," I replied. Renna gigged from amusement.

Looking for a place where we could enjoy the view of the setting sun, I spotted a fallen maple tree. Walking over to it I sat on its trunk. Renna followed and sat beside me. It was peaceful.

"So what do you plan to do in the future Kocho? Your wounds have mostly healed now. Will you go back home?" Rena pondered. I took a deep breath in and out, watching as the water vapour condensed and drifted upwards. Time seemed to pass by slowly.

"I have no home," I said flatly.

"What do you mean?"

"I have lived on the run," I paused briefly and looked into Renna's green eyes. "This is the closest to a home I have."

Renna was momentarily stunned. Sighing she said, "you've also had it hard too, huh. Hmm, have you ever wondered why you haven't encountered anybody else?"

I nodded in response.

"That's because my village banished me. You see, I used to be very close friends with a demon girl when I was younger. We were practically inseparable. We'd go on mini adventures together or act like spies. She was like a sister to me."

After Renna uttered those words, she smiled at me. Yet, her smile did not reach her eyes. There was an indescribable sense of sadness hidden behind them. I placed my hand on top of hers, trying to comfort her. I nodded in encouragement for her to continue.

"But one day it all changed. That damned old man, ahem the king, released a prophecy to the public. He said that demons would lead to the downfall of our kingdom. After that, I was forbidden from meeting my friend.

But of course I didn't listen." Renna smiled at me sadly, "you remind me a lot like her, albeit a bit moodier."

I gave Renna a death stare.

"Point proven," she chuckled.

"Where is your friend now?" I asked out of curiosity.

Renna sighed, "How do you think I found you?" I tilted my head confused. The last place I remember before I lost consciousness was the graveyard. Pondering it a bit more, I realised that a human shouldn't be aware of its existence, unless a demon had shown them. Further, it was a sacred place where only demons who died rested. That would mean...

"Did she die?" I asked.

Renna nodded. "I went to visit her grave since it was her birthday. Her favourite food when she was still alive was ramen. Soooo, I thought of leaving a bowl of ramen for her as a way to pay my respects. What I didn't expect to find that day was you."

"Aren't you lucky."

"Perhaps, but you're far too gloomy compared to what I would have liked," Renna helplessly shrugged.

I gave Renna another death stare before looking back at the fading sun. All that remained was a deep red that stretched across the horizon. The sun had finally fallen below the lake. More stars had appeared above. They twinkled brightly across the dark sky. I started to shiver from the cold. Noticing this, Renna took off her scarf and wrapped it around me. She then jumped off the log and reached out her hand to me.

"Come let's head back. I'll make some of your favourite tea." I held her hand and hopped off the log.

"Thank you Renna."