It was early May, and the air carried the warmth of the changing season, yet Natsukawa Kanade felt only a deep chill creeping through his veins. His fingers instinctively tightened around the small panda pendant in his palm. Maybe a lost trinket wouldn't normally mean much, but given the circumstances—Yukinoshita's sudden disappearance—this was no ordinary coincidence. It was a sign. A message left behind, intentional or not.
His sharp eyes scanned the ground. The footprints leading to this spot suggested that she hadn't been taken against her will. She had come here by choice. And yet, that didn't add up. Yukinoshita wasn't the type to ignore rules, let alone wander off into an uncharted forest for a spontaneous adventure. Something had drawn her here, something powerful enough to override her usual logic.
"Tch… This doesn't make sense." Kanade muttered, rubbing his temple in frustration. But standing around theorizing wasn't going to help. Right now, the priority was finding her. If he delayed too long, there was a real chance she could run into something dangerous.
Memories of the feral wildcat from before flashed through his mind. That thing had been aggressive enough to be a real threat. And that was just a cat. What if she encountered a venomous snake? Even if Yukinoshita was trained in Aikido, martial arts weren't going to help against a creature with fangs and poison.
Kanade exhaled sharply and shoved the pendant into his pocket before taking action. Without hesitation, he climbed over the fence, his movements swift and efficient. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he followed the footprints deeper into the woods.
But after only a few steps, he came to an abrupt halt.
"What the hell is this…?"
The trail of footprints ahead was a chaotic mess. Instead of a clear path, they twisted in all directions, overlapping into an 'X' shape. Kanade frowned. If she had simply walked into the forest and lost her way, the footprints should've continued in a single direction. But this… this looked deliberate. It was almost as if she had been searching for something, pacing back and forth, eliminating possibilities.
His stomach tightened. Was she lost? Or was something else at play?
Kanade glanced around and quickly spotted a medium-sized rock pile nearby. That would do. He climbed onto it, switching his phone's flashlight to its highest setting and placing it on top, making sure the light faced upward. Then, just to be sure, he looped a pre-recorded message on his phone and secured it in place with two small stones.
If Yukinoshita was still wandering, she would hear the audio and find her way back. And if someone else from the search party stumbled across it, they'd know someone had already been here.
With that done, Kanade turned back to the mess of footprints. The chaotic pattern made it nearly impossible to determine her exact route. That left him with only one option—brute force searching. He took the central point where the footprints diverged and began sweeping outward in a methodical spiral. If she was nearby, this would increase his chances of finding her quickly.
His body moved on instinct, sharp eyes scanning the forest floor for any clue, any trace. His ears strained to catch even the smallest sound over the rustling leaves and distant chirping of insects. But no matter which direction he took, every path seemed to loop back to where he started.
"This shouldn't be happening…" Kanade muttered, frustration seeping into his voice.
It didn't make sense. If she was lost, her path should be erratic but not this calculated. And the more he looked at it, the more it seemed like she wasn't just searching—she was systematically eliminating routes. As if… she was looking for something.
"…You idiot."
His fist clenched as realization hit. Of course, Yukinoshita wouldn't just get lost. She was too sharp for that. Which meant she had been after something specific, even at the cost of wandering deeper into the unknown.
Kanade sucked in a breath and pivoted back to the original center point. This time, he examined each trail more carefully, eyes narrowing as he spotted a set of prints with noticeably smaller spacing. A clear sign that she had slowed down.
"There."
Without hesitation, he followed the trail, stepping precisely where the prints led. His heart pounded harder with each step, anticipation and anxiety battling inside him. And then—
A familiar figure came into view, sitting at the base of a tree, knees drawn to her chest.
"Yukinoshita!" Kanade called out, angling his flashlight away from her face to avoid blinding her.
The girl stirred slightly before lifting her head. Her usually composed expression flickered with surprise, disbelief flashing in her sharp blue eyes.
"Natsukawa…?"
Kanade exhaled, finally allowing himself to release the tension that had been building inside him. "Took me long enough to find you."
Yukinoshita blinked, as if still processing his presence, before her features returned to their usual cool demeanor. "I didn't need to be found," she muttered, though the way she averted her gaze said otherwise.
Kanade clicked his tongue. "Oh, really? Then why are you just sitting here?" He stepped closer, lowering his flashlight's brightness. "Are you hurt?"
At that, Yukinoshita instinctively curled her leg inward, her hand subtly covering her ankle. "It's nothing. I'm fine."
Kanade wasn't buying it. He knelt down beside her, his gaze scrutinizing her every movement. "Yeah, sure. You always take a break in the middle of a forest at night, right?"
"…It's just a minor sprain," she admitted begrudgingly. "I tripped earlier."
"Why are you still pretending at a time like this?" Natsukawa Kanade shot her a sharp glare, irritation lacing his voice. "If you were really fine, then why are you just sitting here instead of heading back? Do you think it's fun to make people think you're lost and missing?"
"You..." Yukinoshita's already foul mood darkened further at his scolding tone. She bit back, "Anyway, I don't need you to worry about me. I can walk by myself."
She pushed her hands against the ground, attempting to stand up, but the moment she shifted her weight, a sharp pain shot through her ankle.
"Ugh…!"
Natsukawa Kanade immediately saw through her bravado. With a resigned sigh, he reached down and rolled up the leg of her trousers without waiting for permission.
"Hey—!" Yukinoshita protested, but her words caught in her throat as the flashlight's beam illuminated her injury.
Her ankle was already badly swollen, the bruising an angry contrast against her normally pale skin. Even without touching it, Kanade could tell it was a severe sprain.
"And this is what you call being 'fine'?" Kanade looked at her coldly.
This girl really had no sense of self-preservation. The swelling suggested she'd been walking on it for too long after getting hurt, making it worse.
"…" Seeing she had no excuse, Yukinoshita simply turned her head away, refusing to meet his gaze.
Kanade sighed, the irritation in his chest simmering down slightly. "What about the rest of you? Any other injuries?"
"…No," she mumbled, shaking her head.
"Good." Kanade exhaled in relief. At least she hadn't run into anything dangerous like wild animals. Not that he was about to say that out loud.
Without another word, he extended his hands toward her. "Come on, I'll help you up."
Yukinoshita hesitated but eventually reached for him, allowing him to pull her to her feet. Once she was standing, Kanade let her lean against a tree for support before turning around and squatting down in front of her.
"Alright, get on. I'll carry you back."
"..." Yukinoshita remained still, hesitating again.
Kanade let out an exasperated sigh. "Are you seriously worried about something so trivial right now?"
"I didn't say that!" Yukinoshita shot back immediately.
"Then hurry up. If we keep wasting time, the test of courage will be over before we even make it back."
Yukinoshita clenched her jaw. Kanade was insufferable, but at this moment, she had no choice but to comply. She carefully climbed onto his back, hesitantly wrapping her arms around his shoulders.
As her body pressed lightly against his back, Kanade noted the warmth. For someone so cold and aloof, she was still human, after all. It was a fleeting thought, but he quickly pushed it aside.
Noticing that Yukinoshita wasn't fully leaning on him, he adjusted his grip, securing an arm behind her legs to provide better support.
"Y-you—your hand!" Yukinoshita stiffened.
"Stop complaining! I don't want you falling and making this worse," Kanade grumbled. "Honestly, what were you thinking, wandering off alone like that?"
He was still annoyed. If not for this detour, he could have fulfilled his promise with Mahiru. Instead, here he was, stuck carrying an injured ice queen back.
Then, as if remembering something, Kanade reached into his pocket with one hand and pulled out a small panda pendant. He held it up where Yukinoshita could see it.
"Hey, did you drop this?"
Yukinoshita's breath hitched slightly. Her eyes widened in shock before she quickly schooled her expression into something unreadable.
"How did you find it?" she asked.
"It was near the fence. Kind of hard to miss," Kanade said casually.
Yukinoshita fell silent. So that's why she couldn't find it despite searching for so long inside. But more importantly, did this mean… he had figured out why she had been out here?
"This… This panda… I like it a lot," she murmured, her voice unusually soft. "Thank you for finding it."
Kanade scoffed. "Of course I know. I picked it out for you based on your tastes."
"…" Yukinoshita was at a loss for words. In the end, she lowered her gaze and mumbled, "Thank you…"
"Hah, you're only honest at times like this," Kanade teased.
Yukinoshita suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to shut him up. He was so infuriating—so unbearably smug.
"Idiot," she muttered under her breath, leaning her forehead against his back.
"What?" Kanade tilted his head slightly, unable to hear her properly. "Did you say something?"
"Nothing," she mumbled, voice muffled against his shirt.
Kanade merely shrugged and continued walking, the pendant now safely tucked away. The night air was crisp, the forest quiet save for the sound of his steady footsteps and the faint rustle of leaves. For all the trouble she had caused, at least he found her in time.
And despite the bickering, despite his complaints, Natsukawa Kanade found himself feeling oddly relieved.