Nearly two hours of many memorable conversations and laughter had passed, and now, the eyes of Satou Yukino and Alexandria Aya grew weary. King was yawning but he had said that he wanted to take first watch of the fire along with Neo, with the rest of the group agreeing to the proposition.
Shizaki found himself next to Kamazaki who had somehow made her way next to him and was poking at the firewood with a stick. As he watched on, his eyes soon wandered to her slender arms, then her face…then down her beautiful neck and then her dress.
Now that he looked at her more…
She's actually very pretty…
As if feeling that eyes were on her, she turned to him and he quickly pretended to look at the blades of grass between them. She said nothing and returned to what she was doing.
That…was close!
Shizaki could feel his heart jolt a little and he soon stood up. Noticing the sudden movement most of the group, including Kamazaki, looked at him.
"I'm…going to scout the area for a bit. Just, umm…going to take a walk and stretch my legs, I guess. I'm not too comfortable with sitting down in a specific place all day."
"Heh."
Aya scoffed under her breath, knowing damn well that it was a blatant lie. Knowing Shizaki, he could sit in his house all day for the rest of his life if he wanted to.
I'm not too comfortable with sitting down in a specific place all day, says the shut-in…
However, Shizaki did not expect the redhead to stand up as well.
"...I guess I'll tag along."
"A-Ah, you too, Kamazaki-san?"
"Yep, yep. Yukino-kun, Kamazaki…and even you too, Aya-san…you all don't need to force yourselves to stay awake. We have another long day of travelling tomorrow."
On hearing his name being called, the dark-skinned half-elf nodded, and Aya could not bear to stay awake any longer.
"I guess I'll take the advice. Goodnight."
Although Yukino tried to stay awake, it was apparent that he too was too tired and he decided to lie down and sleep.
"Well then, let's go, Babyface."
"R-Right."
"Don't venture out too far, you guys!"
"Don't worry about us, Yukikama! We'll be back before you know it"
King waved them goodbye, and only Kamazaki waved back, as Shizaki was already walking off into the depths of the dark forest.
Now, only King and Neo remained awake, sitting by the light of the fire while Yukino and Aya began to sleep.
"Hey, Neo-kun, can I ask you something?"
"Ask away."
After receiving the go-ahead, King's nose twitched as he silently sniffed the air twice before continuing.
"Are you in any way…related to Daizen Shizaki…?"
"Related?"
The masked man tilted his head in confusion, and King then shook his head in doubt.
"No….nevermind, that was a weird question. Forget about it.
***
"W-Woah-hey!"
Bella Kamazaki called out toDaizen Shizaki, who easily parkoured off of the base of trees with and landed on an immensely thick branch, supporting his weight.
"Don't worry, I am pretty good at this kind of stuff. Getting an aerial view is also a plus."
"Y-Yeah, sure…but that's not what I meant! Don't spring forward and leave me alone out here, ya know!"
"O-Of course I won't!"
His face shone in the moonlight, while his back was still turned to her.
"...Are you still scared?"
"I-I'm not scared! Just nervous."
"It's okay to be scared sometimes, I think. I had a little incident not too long ago in this forest, so naturally, I'm a bit scared…"
"...Huh."
As Shizaki leaped off of the branch and grabbed onto another tree branch, swinging his body forward to travel from tree to tree, Kamazaki jogged on, trying not to lose sight of him, as well as checking her surroundings.
"You're really athletic!"
She raised his voice as the distance between them slowly but surely grew.
"Uh, well, I train at home, I guess…?"
"Wait, Babyface! We…do know the trail back to our camp, right???"
"We've been going in a straight direction ever since we left. We should be fine!"
He suddenly stopped as he landed on a higher, stronger branch of yet another towering tree and raised his right arm into the air, clenching his fist. Kamazaki immediately stopped and stiffened up.
A signal to stop and remain silent.
What exactly did he see or hear?
Shizaki dropped to the ground and landed on his feet without a sound.
"TimberWolves. Wild ones."
She immediately displayed a confused face.
"I thought that there were no wild animals here…"
"There usually aren't, but you never know when some could be wandering randomly into a suitable habitat to live in. Maybe there were smaller animals that attracted the pack here."
"A…a pack? That's…"
"I see about eight adult TimberWolves there…with a size as big as that, they must have young ones with them."
They both crouched behind a nearby bush and peeked through, finding themselves pretty close to the pack. A mother wolf was tending to her two young pups while laying down. Her fur was a stellar silver, and she easily outclassed Shizaki by size. Close by, a group of wolves also lay down, apparently resting.
Shizaki tucked his head back, and Kamazaki instinctively did the same. They both decided to keep his voice low.
"They're harmless…right?"
"To humans…yes. That's why we use them for different things, like transport or Mythical Beast Contracts. They don't attack us no matter what. Maybe they don't regard us as food or feel threatened by us at all in order to attack. They can get defensive if we get too close to their babies or try to take them though, which is what some people actually try to do. Young TimberWolves can also get pretty frightened when faced with us, especially wild ones."
"R-Right…"
Shizaki then emerged from the bushes, alerting the pack, but they slowly gathered around the new addition, circling him and sniffing, instead of attacking. The mother stayed back, shielding her two pups. Kamazaki watched on as the boy slowly raised his hand to touch the Timberwolf that came closest to him.
As his hand touched the head of the wolf, he noticed a black crescent mark on its forehead.
"The alpha."
He stroked the wolf's fur gently as Kamazaki finally emerged from her hiding place as well, sitting down on the lush, grassy earth with the wolves now circling her..
"Don't panic, just be gentle, and they'll be nice."
"Oh, okay…"
Shizaki stared intently at her, with her captivating figure being encircled by the majestic pack of the TimberWolves, her red hair glittering sensationally in the resonating moonlight.
Yeah…she's insanely pretty.
Suddenly, their eyes met, and Kamazaki displayed an enigmatic smile making him return a shy smile of his own.
"Hey, Babyface…"
"-hk, yeah?"
At this point, he was already used to her calling him by a weird nickname.
"You're a pretty nice guy to be around, you know that?"
His heart skipped a beat, and he avoided eye contact.
"O-Oh, you t-think so, huh? Thanks…..you too."
That was the first time in a while that he was complimented by a girl.
***
"It feels like it's been an hour, and they haven't returned yet. What should we do, Neo-kun?"
A bit worried, King voiced his thoughts, and Neo's hand slowly slid under his mask to scratch his face while pondering.
"Hm. Let's wait for a while again. If they don't return in the next hour, I'll try to look for them."
"Okay…"
Trying his best to calm down, he furrowed his brows with expectation.
"Just return safe, dumbass. You too, Shizaki-kun."
His main reason for joining the Royal Guild was actually to accompany Bella Kamazaki. After all, he had a promise to keep with a particular woman. He remembered her weary smile, her eyes of caution, and her final parting plea.
{"Remember, I'm only letting you two go because you said that you'll make sure that she's okay. Protect that girl's smile, okay? Trust me when I say that she's very delicate."}
His one reason for joining her on his journey was actually to accompany her. After all, he had a promise to keep with a particular woman. He remembered her smile, her eyes of caution, and her final parting plea.
I'll do my best to ensure that she is safe. You took me in, after all. Now, I must support your wish to the best of my ability.
Yukikama Kawarasuri's resolve strengthened as he awaited the arrival of the duo.
-----------------------------------------
(Chapter 9: Moonlit Duo / Moonlit Resolve.)