Kazuhiko slowly counted everyone in front of him with his mouth moving and finger following each person.
Yamikuro, Kaminari, Rye, Cedar, Angel, Isabella, Deia, Rose, and Ivy stood in front of him.
He then coughed as he finished counting.
"I'm glad you have all gathered here."
He clapped his hands together.
"I know a perfect place where we can go. It's quite empty all the time for some reason."
Kaminari raised an eyebrow.
"There's gotta be a reason for that."
Angel shrugged, looking at his watch.
"We'll be late if we don't find a spot quickly."
With a smirk, Kazuhiko nodded in response.
"Follow me."
They walked through the outskirts of the festival area, where the crowds started to thin out, lights faded, and the city's voices turned into background noise.
Eventually, they found themselves standing in front of a forest.
"...What are we doing here?" Rose spoke up. Her voice carried more concern than annoyance.
Isabella felt the same way, crossing her arms.
"You sure this is legal? We're stepping through a forest for this."
Kazuhiko laughed it off.
"It'll be fine, trust me."
The forest wasn't thick, and the trail was surprisingly clean. Everyone had expected to walk through a forest, with an unknown fate waiting after every step.
The sky above them started to dim, and it was getting hard to see.
After about ten minutes of walking, they reached the end of the forest. It opened up to a grassy hilltop.
Now all they had to do was reach the top.
And the view was beautiful, even without fireworks.
The city was glowing in the early night, while a soft breeze moved the tall grass around them.
Kazuhiko dropped his bag and pulled out multiple sheets.
"To sit on."
He then passed them out to everyone.
Everyone mutually agreed to sit near each other.
Kaminari sat with his legs stretched out. Rose leaned into Angel as they looked up at the sky.
Yamikuro stayed near the back, still unsure how to feel being part of all this.
Isabella glanced over at Yamikuro, noticing his awkward posture.
"We don't bite, you know," she said, gesturing toward the group with a smirk.
"Except Kaminari," Cedar added.
Kaminari was startled.
"Wha-? Me? Idontbite!"
Everyone burst out laughing or smiling at that.
But suddenly...
Boom!
A firework lit up the area with its loud bang, interrupting their moment.
Then another.
And another.
The festival had officially begun. But from where they were, it felt like they were the only ones watching it.
It was a beautiful sight. Different colors, symbols, and noises came from the fireworks.
As the night unfolded above them, Angel took small pieces of paper and pens from his pocket.
"Since Yamikuro is new, I can explain the tradition. Every year, we write our wishes on these papers and send them flying in the air. It's said to grant wishes that way."
He passed them around.
Yamikuro didn't know what to write right away.
He didn't know what he wanted.
He glanced around. Everyone was writing so easily, like they knew what they wanted.
Yamikuro hesitated. What did he want? Freedom? Safety? A future?
His hand clenched around the pen. There was only one answer, and he hated it.
Lucian Daichi.
The name still haunted him in the other world.
He folded his paper after his name was on it.
Nobody showed each other their wishes. It was a part of the culture to keep it a secret.
"So what now?" Yamikuro asked after seeing everyone write down their wishes.
"Watch this," Angel said.
He placed his wish in his palm and let go.
The paper started floating, slowly at first, but it picked up speed as it flew high into the sky.
Yamikuro was in awe. He had never seen anything like this.
One by one, the others followed.
And Yamikuro did the same.
When it was done, there was a quiet moment. A lot was felt in that moment of silence.
But Yamikuro stood up.
"What's wrong?" Rye asked with concern in his voice.
Yamikuro chuckled.
"Oh, nothing. Sorry, I didn't want to worry you guys."
He looked around and quietly spoke.
"I'm going to go take a leak."
But what he didn't notice was that Kaminari had already gone to do the same.
He walked down toward the edge of the forest again, it got cold as he went further from everyone.
It was somewhat quiet.
Birds chirped in the background, a couple of laughs came from the group, and some late fireworks went off.
As he reached total darkness, he noticed something glowing.
An electricity-like glow came from the other side of the forest.
His gut tensed.
A twig snapped beneath his feet, leaves blew in the wind. A lot of distracting noises were all around.
He crouched low, moving quietly, bushes and trees brushing against his arms.
As he got closer to the light, he noticed someone familiar.
It was Kaminari.
Yamikuro didn't want to yell out for him. Something felt off.
But as he got close to Kaminari's back...
Kaminari fell to his knees.
Then he got kicked in his chest.
A tall man with two long katanas stepped over Kaminari's unconscious body. His mouth was covered by a mask, and his long hair flowed in the air.
He noticed Yamikuro staring at him.
Without a second thought, Yamikuro turned around.
The man didn't speak.
But he moved.
A slash came at him so fast, Yamikuro didn't have time to react. He turned his head, barely dodging the attack. He felt a few strands of hair get cut off.
Yamikuro sprinted, trying to get back to the others.
Through the trees, over roots, stepping off the trail, not looking back.
The man could've killed Yamikuro right there, but he didn't. He watched from the shadow, acting like a predator following its prey.
Yamikuro saw the light of the hill in the distance.
But before he could scream for help, a sharp pain struck the back of his neck.
Everything went dark.
Back on the hill, Rose lay with her eyes closed.
"I forgot how peaceful it could get in this festival."
"Don't jinx it," Ivy said worryingly.
Rose laughed.
"There's no way you actually believe in that."
Deia glanced towards the trees. Something felt off, anxiety filled her chest.
"They've been gone for a while now."
Cedar stood up. Also, sensing something was wrong.
"Should we check on them?"
Kazuhiko stood near the edge, quietly speaking to Mai. She frowned slightly, nodding at something he said.
They couldn't reach him to ask for something.
But Angel was the third oldest there.
"It'd be better if I went," Angel said.
Rose's eyes shot open.
"I can come with you."
As usual, one of them disappeared without warning.
Rye was already gone, looking for Yamikuro.
He seemed to usually be near him at all times, but just now he let him go without following.
Cedar, Deia, and Isabella stayed behind. All of them were worried.
Rose and Angel reached the edge of the forest.
But that's when she stepped on something.
A piece of paper was half-buried under dirt.
She picked it up, and Angel read out loud the words.
"Defeating Lucian Daichi."
Right after reading it, a strong gust of wind blew the paper out of her fingers.