Chapter 1

 

 

 

Chapter 1

 

SUNLIGHT bathed the dense forest in its warm embrace. Rays of light danced between the branches onto the shrub-covered floor. Yuki squinted as she compared the sun’s position to the map Vivi had given her. Studying the map with dazed eyes, she trudged forward on unsteady legs.

“Where…am I?”

Since Yuki had arrived in Aridol, she had only traveled by horse. Now she was stuck walking on her own two legs and she hadn’t stopped for the past five days. Her legs trembled from overexertion and refused to move, and her muscles screamed in protest with intense pain.

“I’m…thirsty…”

Where’s my bag? Can I even call this a bag?

Yuki had altered the strings on the jute bag Vivi had given her, so that she could wear it like a backpack. The bag contained a change of clothes, dried food, and a waterskin, although she had burned through most of her supplies during her first three days of wandering the forest.

With what little energy she could muster, she dragged herself to a large tree and sat with her back against its gnarled trunk. Being on edge day and night meant she could never truly rest.

How could she toss me out into a place like this? Yuki cursed Vivi’s childish smirk. I’m lost!

Yuki had progressed through the forest by using oddly-shaped trees as landmarks and occasionally dropping something to mark her path. But no matter how far she walked, she found herself going in circles. She would stumble upon a new path, only to realize it led back to where she had been before, leaving her with the nagging sense that she wasn’t making any progress in the first place.

Sunlight beat onto her black hair, the blistering heat melting her into a stupor. She closed her eyes. A gentle breeze caressed her sweat-soaked neck. With her eyes shut, she listened to the leaves swaying in the wind.

I wish it would at least rain…

Yuki’s throat was so parched from thirst that even her tongue felt like it would dry out.

If I keep walking I’ll eventually come across a watering hole, she thought.

If I keep walking, I’ll eventually find someone.

If I keep walking, I’ll eventually see the mountains.

If I keep walking, I’ll eventually spot a town or village… maybe.

If I keep walking, I’ll eventually, I’ll eventually, I’ll eventually, maybe…as long as I keep walking.

“…There’s nothing out here!”

She had been naïve—about everything. Nobody was going to be nearby in this secluded forest, and yet those naïve thoughts propelled her onward. By the time she had regretted her path, it was already too late. Either way, she had no choice but to keep pushing forward. What else could she do? Turning back would only lead to the empty lot where Vivi’s house once stood—if she could even find her way back.

Yuki’s stomach gurgled. The waning sun signaled that she should stop for the day and rest at the tree she lay against. At night, every little noise seemed like it had come from the beasts and bugs she had glimpsed eyeing her from the shadows over the past few days. Was a predator stalking her, or were the creatures in the shadows just waiting for her to weaken enough to be an easy kill? Sleep only came to her while the sun was still up.

I had no idea bugs were nocturnal. Are bugs mostly nocturnal on Earth too? Or is that just another accursed feature of this world? Ugh, I can’t take it anymore. I need a break.

Cuddling up against one of the gargantuan tree roots that surrounded her, she lowered her eyelids.

***

YUKI loved the smell of rain—the fresh, woody fragrance that arose when water suddenly hit the soil and freed the Earth’s dormant oils, releasing the musky scent associated with a first rain. She reveled in the moment the first drop hit the ground.

“Ouch!”

A piercing pain in the right side of her neck rudely disrupted her slumber. Sitting up in shock, she touched her neck only to feel something that shouldn’t be there.

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” In a frenzy, she batted at whatever had latched onto her neck. A tiny bug flew away, escaping her wild attack.

I-It bit me? Yuki quickly stood, snatched up her bag, and fled from her spot at the base of the tree.

What should I do if a whole swarm attacks me? Her legs nearly buckled at the thought, but the bug merely darted away into the brush and showed no signs of buzzing after her with a nasty swarm. Her heart raced, pounding relentlessly against her ribcage. With both hands cupped protectively around her neck, she glared at the shrubbery the bug had fluttered off into.

What? No way?

Drip. Drip.

Cold droplets hit her cheeks. The fresh, musky scent she had thought was a dream brought forth real rain. Her throat cried in agony for a taste of the liquid she had gone too long without. Rain poured down on her as she stood rooted to the spot, her hands still guarding her neck.

How long had she slept? The skies that had remained clear since the day she left Vivi’s were covered in puffy, black clouds.

Rain…Rain! Rain! The stinging in the back of her throat reminded her of how desperately she longed for a drink with a jolt.

“RAIN!” Yuki shouted. She opened her mouth to the sky. Drop by drop, the rainwater trickled onto her tongue.

More. I need more! This might only be a quick drizzle.

Spurred on by the thought, Yuki glanced around the forest until she spotted a suitably large leaf. She plucked it from the tree and creased it lengthwise. Then, yanking the waterskin from her bag, she angled the leaf against its opening. Raindrops collected on the leaf’s surface and flowed down into the waterskin. She secured the leaf with a small branch, then folded several smaller leaves into triangles to keep her contraption from falling over. Bringing another leaf to her mouth, she gulped down the water that had pooled on its surface.

“I’m revived!”

When she had repeated the process three more times, she gasped. Her waterskin had filled, yet the rain hadn’t let up. Yuki swept her drenched bangs from her face.

“…Now that I think about it, I haven’t bathed in ages!” Dark, puffy clouds filled the sky as far as the eye could see. “Perfect! I’ll take a shower! A rain shower!”

Exhilaration filled her at the prospect of being clean. She carelessly tossed off her sandals, and let the rain-soaked dirt and vegetation gently suck her feet in.

Yuki frolicked around the forest, paying no heed to the mud splashing on her clothes. The cool rain rushing down her dirty skin and hair felt heavenly. Even though she was soaked from head to toe, she couldn’t stop herself from laughing. When she stopped frolicking, she stood still under the downpour.

***

HOW long had she stayed sitting in the rain? Without noticing it, Yuki had sat down on a pile of mud with her legs sprawled out and her eyes shut. She only opened them because she heard a voice.

“…You’re playing in the mud in a place like this? It may be warmer now, but you’ll freeze if you stay like that, dearie,” someone said in a deep, calm tenor.

Startled, Yuki stiffened and looked for the owner of the voice. A young man stood in the distance with an umbrella.

A man?

His long hair was a deep shade of forest-green, visible even in the distance. His tall stature and toned build clashed with his beautiful face. It dawned on her that his left leg ended at the knee. As if a log had sprouted from his kneecap, a carved wooden stick served as a replacement for his missing shin. She inquisitively looked up at his face. Their gazes met. A sad smile upon his face, he walked in her direction.

“Your appearance isn’t too easy on the eyes either, my dear.”

Why not? Yuki assessed her appearance. Her thin shirt was soaked through, clinging haphazardly to her chest and exposing the contours of her small breasts.

“GEH!”

I-I have to h-h-hide my chest! I think I left my coat in my bag…

Yuki frantically looked left and right for the bag, her wet hair whipping against her cheeks. She had abandoned the bag on top of some nearby bushes.

F-Found it!

As she stepped toward her bag, the young man grabbed her. She peered up into the hazel eyes examining her in turn.

“You were bitten by a Buibui, weren’t you?”

“Huh?”

What’s a Buibui?

He lifted Yuki’s chin with his free hand, tilting it. She let him turn her head to the left. His eyes locked onto the right side of her neck.

“I knew it. Hey, are you feeling intoxicated—” He ended his question abruptly as he finished looking over her soaked and muddy figure. “Yeah, you most certainly are.”

He flashed a troubled smile.

What a pretty person, Yuki thought absently. Out of the blue, he bent down and bit her neck.