"Something genuine."

Despite wishing for it from the bottom of my heart, it has never been clear to me what exactly that means. Is it love? Is it friendship? I didn't know. I still don't. And so, I searched for something I didn't fully understand. I requested the help of my clubmates, and they accepted the first and last request of Hikigaya Hachiman. They did their best to help, and I'm truly grateful to them from the bottom of my heart, but how are you supposed to give someone something if you don't know what it is you have to give?

They did their best; I have no doubts there. I would even argue that they fulfilled the request I gave to them. It wasn't what I truly wanted, but it was what I had asked for. I tried giving it time. I doubted the sort of relationship I sought would form overnight, after all. However, my dissatisfaction grew with time, instead of lessening as I had hoped. It wasn't fair of me to disparage the efforts of my clubmates when they would give anything I asked, if only I knew what to ask for. And so, I kept these thoughts to myself, further increasing the unpleasant feeling in my gut.

Truthfully, more than anything else, I was afraid. My relationships with Yukinoshita and Yuigahama were the sort of one-in-a-million chances that I would never see the likes of again, and even that wasn't enough to satisfy me. 'If that's the case, maybe I'm looking for something that doesn't exist.' That thought stuck in my head and refused to leave. If that were truly the case, then the only choices open to me were to endlessly search in vain, or to compromise my ideals and forsake my greatest desire. Neither of these options appealed to me. I have always taken pride in my refusal to change myself for the sake of others, especially for something as important to me as this.

How fitting that it was only after coming to a land of fantasy and illusion that I found that "something genuine" I was looking for.

I was awoken by the feeling of a warm sunbeam on my face and a gentle breeze ruffling my hair. This was my first clue that something was wrong, as I keep my window closed and curtains drawn at all times to keep my room as insulated from the outside world as possible. The second clue that something was wrong was the feeling of grass under my body instead of my lovely bed. I sat up and stretched my arms over my head, while letting out a jaw-cracking yawn. I can't remember the last time I woke up from something other than Komachi's gentle body slam into my chest for sleeping in too late, or Sensei's gentle headlock for sleeping in class, or Yukinoshita's gentle scathing critique of my qualifications as a human being for sleeping in the clubroom. I have to be careful, or else I'll grow spoiled.

'Well, enough joking around.' I stood up the rest of the way to take stock of my surroundings.

The first thing I noticed was… trees. There were a lot of them. The canopy was so thick that the sky was completely blocked from my sight, only a bit of light trickling through letting me know that it was daytime. It was rather peaceful. Every now and then, a pleasant breeze would blow through the leaves, giving the branches a lazy sway. It was the sort of pleasant view you'd normally see after your father suffers a mental breakdown from work-related stress and brings his entire family with him to go camping in the middle of nowhere for two weeks, interrupting his wonderful son's peaceful summer and making him leave his games and manga at home. Not that I would know, of course.

The second thing I noticed was the mushrooms. They were everywhere, and I had absolutely no idea what any of them were. Mushrooms weren't supposed to come in every color on the visible spectrum, and they certainly weren't supposed to come in every color at once. Then again, what would I know? I'm certainly no wildlife expert. Maybe this was a totally normal thing about mushrooms that I had just never known before. I should text Yukinoshita, I bet she would know. As soon as I think that, I'm immediately struck with two thoughts.

First, texting Yukinoshita to ask about mushrooms is just setting myself up to get torn down. That was a terrible idea.

Second, I have a phone! My parents bought me a nice smartphone as a reward for passing Soubu High's entrance exams, likely from some misguided notion that I had friends from middle school that I would like to stay in touch with. They may be emotionally distant wage slaves, but they've made it very clear to their children (mostly Komachi) that they will always answer if we call with an emergency, and this certainly qualifies as one in my mind. I fish around in the pockets of my school uniform for a moment and take out my phone, put in the passcode 11037, and…

No signal.

I stared at my phone for a few seconds, right before it shut itself off from a dead battery. I placed the useless phone back in my pocket and quietly looked around a bit at the nearly identical trees, hemmed and hawed as I considered the questionable edibility of the mysterious fungi… and then I nodded decisively.

"I'm going to die out here."

To my surprise, I did not die in the forest. In fact, I only managed to wander around hopelessly lost for a few minutes before I stumbled into a very helpful young girl that set my older brother instincts into overdrive. Several times over the course of our meeting, I had to resist the powerful urge to ruffle her hair and ask if she had any male friends for me to threaten.

She appeared disappointed when she got a good look at my face, but she was kind enough to not say anything about it. I already know this face of mine is disappointing, so there's no need for strangers to point it out. Not that it stops most of them from saying something anyways… Looking at you, Yukinoshita.

After some introductions and a round of questions, she explained that she was looking for dinner when she found me. I was initially worried that she was lost like me, but she laughed off my concerns and stated she had been living here for a long time. There wasn't much I could say to her after that. If she really grew up here, then my city boy logic will just be annoying. She didn't seem at all offended, but I didn't want to push it, especially when she was my only ticket to getting out of here. She was kind enough to point me out of the woods when I asked for directions to the nearest town. There wasn't much in the way of landmarks to follow, so the best she could do was give me a direction to follow and advice on which plants to steer clear of. All she asked for in return was for me to point any other lost travelers I happened to stumble across towards her direction, presumably so she could lead them out of the forest as well.

Rumia was such a sweet girl.

Even with those directions, navigating the forest wasn't easy for me. The terrain was hard to navigate at times, and I had to be careful not to lose my sense of direction, but the worst part was the stress of being in an unfamiliar environment with little to distract me from my thoughts. How did I get here? This wasn't some carefully maintained hiking trail in a local park. This was nature left to its own devices. There were no paths or markers to follow, and the flora was clearly left to grow as it pleased for quite a long time to reach its current state. Eventually, this train of thought led to its natural conclusion.

Absolutely nothing like this exists in Chiba.

So once again, I asked myself how I could have ended up here, deep in the heart of a forest that does not exist anywhere near my hometown, with no memories of how it could have happened.

I had some ideas, and all of them unsettled me further. With an uneasy heart, I pushed these thoughts to the back of my mind and focused on reaching somewhere safe before nightfall. Who knows what kind of creatures hunt at night in a place like this?

Come to think of it, why haven't I seen or heard any signs of the wildlife?

Unsettled, I decided to move a bit faster than before.

It was several hours later that I finally emerged from the forest and onto a well-worn dirt path, and nearly collapsed in relief. I was in remarkably good shape from riding my bike to and from school every day, but my legs were a quivering mess and the shirt under my jacket was soaked through with sweat. I could see the village Rumia mentioned from where I stood. Despite wanting nothing more than to collapse where I stood, the sight of my goal being near gave me the drive to keep going… at a slower pace, of course. It's important to do these sorts of things with moderation.

As I approached the village and noticed some of the details, I began to have some concerns. More concerns, that is. Everything about this situation was concerning. I woke up in the middle of the woods with no memory of how I got there, so a certain level of concern was warranted. I found myself wondering things such as 'Why do these buildings look like they're centuries old?' and 'Why is there an imposing wall surrounding the whole village?' I had no answers, but I also had nowhere else to go.

Finally, with those sorts of troubling and unresolved thoughts, I reached the end of the road and the entrance to the village, impeded by a large gate. The gate itself was nothing special, just two large wooden doors set into the wall, with an empty guard tower to the right of it. I put my hand on the outside and pushed lightly as a test, but there was absolutely no give. Judging by the hinges, it likely opened outwards. I couldn't see any kind of handle or mechanism to open the door from my side, which led me to conclude that it could only be opened from the other side. I had doubts in my ability to open them with my scrawny arms anyways. I could hear some faint indistinct chatter on the other side. Was I supposed to call out to them?

"Um…" I croaked, too quiet by far. I raised my voice. "Hello? Anyone want to let me in, or-?" Thankfully I was interrupted before I could further make an ass out of myself.

""SNRK, huh? What?! Who's there?!" Someone's head shot up over the railing of the guard tower, one hand rubbing sleep from his eyes and the other gripping a… spear?! Well, one more concern for the pile. It seemed the tower wasn't as empty as I initially believed. "What do you want?" Well, right to the point. I can respect that.

"Uh… Right. Yeah. Can you let me in? I'll just be out of your hair in a bit." There was silence, a response far warier than the last.

"…Nobody has left the village today. Everyone is accounted for. What's your name? I'll have to ask the chief about you." Oh for- Really? What was with this insane level of paranoia? I didn't have the time or the energy to deal with this absolute nonsense.

"Seriously? I just woke up in the woods with no clue how I got there, and you want to play meet-and-greet? My name is Hikigaya Hachiman, but that doesn't matter because I've never been here before in my life. I don't even know where here is! Just… look, all I need to do is make a call or two, but there's no signal out here and my cellphone is dead. So, if you could just let me in so I can use your landline or something, that would be great." I grit the last part out. I don't think I was being entirely fair to the guard just doing their job, but it had been a long day that I dearly wanted to end. The guard looked as confused as I felt.

"Landline? Cellphone…? Oh! I know what this is! You're an outsider, aren't you?" The tension vanished like it had never been there in the first place, and the guard was all smiles now. I opened my mouth to question whether or not I was being insulted, but he just continued right on. "Maaaan, you guys usually don't make it here. Good job, kid!" He gave me a thumbs up. "But geez, the forest? You must have some crazy luck if you made it through that hellhole with your insides still inside."

"What?!" It was that dangerous?! I guess that answers my question about the security, at least. This village was rather close to the outskirts of the forest, so putting a wall up is just common sense. I remember reading that rural villages used to have issues with wolves, could that be the case here as well? Thank goodness for my low presence. The most dangerous thing I came across in that forest was Rumia, and she was perfectly harmless. Stealth Hikky saves the day again!

"Name's Yamada. Good to meet you, Hachiman." He sure did get casual all of a sudden. I think I liked him better when he was being a dick. "Anyway, just hold your horses for a sec and I'll let ya in. Oi! Tarou! Get those doors open! We got an outsider!" He turned his head to the right and called for someone out of sight. "You gonna stick around? Probably not, huh? I don't blame you. I can get someone to take you the shrine tomorrow, but it's too late to head out now. The last thing you want is to be outside these walls at night." I try to interject a comment, but he just keeps talking. "I'm sure Keine will be alright with you sleeping in one of her classrooms for the night, then you can head out first thing in the morning for the shrine. Don't worry, that miko is scary as shit, but she'll get you squared away. Damn it, Tarou! Move your ass!" He turned completely to the right this time to continue yelling at his co-worker.

Just as I was starting to get whiplash from the rapid topic changes, one of the doors gave a loud creak and scrape, then slowly shifted open a tiny bit, just enough to let a single person through. I understand completely, Tarou-san. No point putting all that effort into opening it all the way for one complete stranger. I can certainly respect your dedication towards energy conservation.

Once again, Yamada interrupted my internal monologue before I could really get going. "Doesn't look like you're carrying anything, but we'll have to search you to make sure you don't have anything dangerous. You outsiders carry some scary shit sometimes, you know?" No, I don't know, actually.

"You guys sure are paranoid." I said with a frown. "In fact, I was starting to think you weren't going to let me in at all." A bit of annoyance creeped into my tone, but Yamada just laughed it off.

"Hahahaha! Sorry about that, kid! We've been on high alert ever since the captain's kid went missing. I've been here all day, haven't slept a single wink!" He winked at me, giving me a conspiratorial smile. I was definitely reporting this guy to his boss as soon as I could. "Tarou, what the fuck are you doing? Go search the kid so we can get this over with already!" He throws another careless grin in my direction. "Newbies, am I right?" Please don't drag me into this. You have my condolences for dealing with this guy all the time, Tarou-san, but I will continue to do absolutely nothing to help you.

A scrawny man wearing worn leather armor a size too big for someone his size squeezed through the opening, took one look at my face, then yelped and ran back in before slamming the door. Tarou-san, didn't your mother teach you any manners? Even if you find me repulsive, the correct response is pity, not fear. You could really hurt someone's feelings like that. Not mine, of course, but the point stands. I looked to Yamada for an explanation, but he was nowhere to be seen. There was a loud commotion on the other side of the door, and I wasn't sure what to do. Why couldn't today just end? Finally, after several minutes of awkwardly standing around unsure what to do with myself, the commotion settled, and the door creaked open once more. This time, I was greeted to the sight of an absolute bear of man, outfitted in well-fitted metal armor that looked properly maintained.

"Leave." His voice was deep and rough, and exactly what I expected someone who looked like that would sound like. His face may as well have been carved from stone for all the emotion it showed, but there was no mistaking the sheer hatred the man felt after a single glance at his eyes. For some reason, that hatred was directed squarely at me, but there was also something else in the man's glare that I couldn't identify.

"What…? 'Leave…'? Why the hell would I leave?" I was working myself up into a proper angry rant, but instantly stopped when I saw that the guard's hand had tightened on the grip of the sword resting on his hip. That was when I figured out what that mysterious emotion was in the man's eyes.

It was fear.

"You are not welcome in this village, youkai. Leave, now." 'Youkai'? What the hell? Is that supposed to be an insult? The man seemed absolutely serious. How do I even respond to something like this?

"I don't… 'Youkai'? What are you…? I mean, I'm not…" The huge man was completely tense and eyed me like a ticking timebomb. If it came down to a fight, then I would lose 10 out of 10 times against this guy. Anyone who looked at us would agree. I'm a scrawny teenager that fights with words and cynicism. I wouldn't be surprised if my sister could beat me up. If this guy were to seriously come at me, my only recourse would be the Joestar's secret family technique. So then, why was this guy looking like he was the one bravely facing his death?

"Did you really think you could fool us with that disguise? I bet you stole those strange clothes from a lost outsider after you killed them." He scoffs. "A good effort, but nobody with eyes like that could possibly be human." I really wish I could say that was the first time someone said something like that to me, but middle school children can be exceptionally cruel. "This is your last chance, youkai. Leave. Now." He drew the sword from his hip and held it straight out between us. His grip shook and it didn't seem like he was confident in his ability to use it, but it's not like he needed to be good at it to kill me. Not that he seemed aware of this.

"…fine then." I sighed, just feeling resigned by that point. Discretion was the better part of valor here. I could save the freak out until after I had a plan. Yamada had mentioned a shrine before everything went to shit, so I chose to make that my next stop. "Point me in the direction of the shrine and I'll leave. No trouble. That's what you want, yeah?" I spat out at him. My cowardice was completely eclipsed by my exhaustion and disgust with this situation. Fortunately, he didn't seem to mind, and in fact relaxed completely upon hearing my offer to leave. He pointed in the opposite direction I had come from down the path, so I turned and left without another complaint.

Before I got too far though, I stopped when a thought occurred to me. "By the way, Yamada was asleep in the guard tower when I got here. You should probably punish him." And then I kept walking while ignoring the squawk from Yamada, a satisfied feeling of schadenfreude in my heart.

I had no idea what the hell to do after that. I was tired and quickly running out of daylight, and Yamada had mentioned that the shrine was too far to reach before night. He also mentioned that the forest is apparently a death trap, which is just fantastic. It seems I spoke too soon about not dying in that place. The only things that didn't make sense were the terms they had used for me; 'outsider' and 'youkai'. I supposed that 'outsider' could refer to anyone from outside of their community, but Yamada had made it sound like me waking up in the middle of nowhere was a completely normal occurrence. How often does something like that happen that he can just completely laugh it off?

Then there was 'youkai', which was even more confusing. I know what that term means, just as any other normal Japanese citizen would. It's used to describe supernatural beings from old folk tales, usually monsters, but not always. That man seemed absolutely convinced that I was one of these creatures. I could chalk it up to a single man's delusions, but Tarou had run away from me as well. What the hell was up with this place? Truthfully, I didn't want to think about the subject anymore, but any distraction from my aching feet and legs was welcome. It appeared that the path eventually goes through the forest, and I was not looking forward to returning to it. I let out a heavy sigh.

"Didn't work, huh?" A familiar voice came from behind me, scaring the absolute crap out of me. I slowly turned around showing no sign of fear on my face, all the while trying to keep my heart from jumping out of my throat. How the hell did Rumia sneak up on me that easily? I didn't even hear her footsteps. I must have been lost in thought. She folded her arms and nodded in a commiserating manner. "Yeah, they've been kinda on edge lately. Someone's kid wandered into the forest and got eaten, so now they're all jumpy. It's hilarious." She laughed, as if she hadn't said something completely horrifying. "Ah well, tough luck. I'm heading to Mystia's food stand. Wanna come?"

As soon as she mentioned food, my stomach loudly growled, causing me to blush. Rumia just smiled teasingly and gave me an understanding look as her stomach growled twice as loud as mine. Ah, I can feel my soul being soothed by this wonderful little sister. Wait, no! I must remain dedicated to my beloved Komachi! Instead of ruffling her hair like I wanted to, I settled for a firm nod. "Then let's go!" She chirped. I took a step to follow her, and then froze at her actions. Instead of walking, she lifted her arms parallel to the ground and hovered several inches off the ground, before lazily floating down the path.

What?

No seriously, what?

A/N - Hi everybody! Welcome to the first thing I've ever felt good enough about writing to actually publish! I've got a really bad habit of endlessly editing and tweaking my writing without publishing it, so I decided to just bite the bullet and post this anyways. So, since this is my first bit of "actual" writing, I'd really appreciate you guys letting me know what you like or dislike. Constructive criticism is welcome, but please be gentle? I am very delicate.