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"Wait, so you've been reading the map upside down this whole time ?"
"It just looked like it made more sense this way" Akito responds, flipping the map in his hands.
They have been walking through the forest for an hour now and wondered why they still haven't found the campsite.
The sun goes down, threatening to set, by now An and Toya are probably waiting for them. Kohane turns on her phone again hoping that maybe the signal would work this time but it doesn't as expected.
"Maybe we can try lighting a fire on a big pile of wood; that would get people's attention" she suggests.
"That's a good idead but it could cause a forest fire," Akito responds as he puts down his bag and looks through it.
He only finds half a sandwich to eat and splits it in half then gives the bigger piece to Kohane. They both sit in the shadow of a tall tree to eat while trying to understand where they are on the map.
"There is a small lake right next to us so we are right here" she points to a spot at the very top of the map. "And An and Toya are waiting for us at the campsite there" Kohane then points at the opposite end of the map.
With their hunger temporarily sated they return to walking back to the campsite. Suddenly they hear the sound of leaves being stepped on nearby and instinctively hide behind a tree. Akito takes a peek and sees a boar with two piglets, one next to it and the other one is close to him.
Akito and Kohane silently look at the boar.
The boar looks back at them and then looks at its piglet.
"..."
It immediately starts chasing after them and Akito grabs Kohane's hand and starts sprinting. He was athletic from being in the football club in the past and could run long distances but the same couldn't be said about Kohane who was huffing and puffing next to him. Yet she was running faster than she ever did before.
Unfortunately the boar kept accelerating, slowly catching up to them. Kohane notices they're running towards a large tree. She dashes towards it then abruptly turns to the side at the last second, pulling Akito with her. The boar doesn't have time to slow down and crashes onto the tree then passes out.
Kohane sits against a stone formation to catch her breath "This feels familiar... I've seen this before, it's in the middle of the map".
"I remember this thing too"
The forest slowly descends into darkness as they both take a moment to catch their breath. Their surroundings start feeling more ominous every minute that passes. Kohane glances over her shoulder every few seconds just in case. Unfortunately for them, the obscurity makes the map harder to follow so they keep walking in the same direction, hoping it's the right path. They stumble upon an seemingly abandoned small wooden cabin that neither of them remember seeing.
"We either sleep in there or on the floor" Akito says
Kohane walks around the cabin "But what if it's filled with bugs or if someone is in there ?"
"This is a forest so bugs are everywhere but if there's anyone in there we can ask them if we can stay over for the night. If we're lucky we might even find a forest guard." he says before knocking at the door once.
He then knocks twice and thrice but still no response. "Alright, step back Kohane"
Kicking the wooden door once was enough for it to open and reveal the inside of the cabin. Kohane turns on the light and observes the single room with a bed, a closet, a toilet and a stove on the floor.
"The electricity still works and this is surprisingly clean, how is this an abandoned house ?" he inquires.
"It's not abandoned then." A cold shiver runs down her spine. "What if they come back ?" She nervously asks.
"I'm tired, we'll deal with them tomorrow."
"If we get kidnapped it's your fault then." She looks at the bed then turns to him, her cheeks slightly flushed. "There's only one bed I guess we'll have to share."
Akito briefly considers sleeping on the floor then nods in agreement. They share a glance before putting down their bags on the floor and awkwardly settling onto the bed, careful to leave a small distance between them. Kohane pulls up the thin blanket that barely warms them and tries to fall asleep.
As they lie side by side, the chilling cold of the forest seeps into their skin despite the walls of the cabin. Kohane shivers slightly, her teeth clattering as her trembling hands pull the blanket tighter around her.
Noticing her discomfort, Akito shifts closer to her "I'm cold too, can we cuddle to stay warm ?" he suggests, hoping she agrees.
She nods then he pulls her against his chest, wrapping his arms around her. At that moment Kohane felt grateful that he was facing her back because her face was completely red. At least she wasn't cold anymore.
Akito was always a very straightforward and honest person but he fell asleep knowing he lied to her. He wasn't cold, he just wanted an excuse to cuddle her and was worried for her.
--✧--
Knock knock.
Akito wakes up first due to the sound of loud knocks on the door. He reluctantly gets out of bed while rubbing his eyes then opens the door.
"Toya, come here I found them !" a familiar voice says.
"..An ?"
"We've been looking for you everywhere since yesterday. I thought you got eaten by a wolf or something".
Kohane sits up on the bed "He accidentally used the map upside down ".
"Not surprising coming from him" An responds.
"Maybe I wouldn't have to use a map in the first place if you didn't steal my phone charger".
"Don't try to blame your dumb careless mistakes on me," the girl spews back.
Toya scratches the back of his neck, awkwardly standing between the two then turns to Kohane "Ignore how passive-aggressive she is. We stayed up late looking for you both and she's a bit tired".
The four of them finally reunite and walk back to the campsite together, their voices echoing through the woods.