The Letter to Misaki
Chapter 2 Part 2: Page two is connecting

The atmosphere inexplicably began to stretch around.

Especially from Mariko. He looks so worried.

Whether it was because Fubata was his best friend or because of his obligations as group leader, I don't know.

But for sure I also started to feel that worry from him.

Long story short, Futaba disappeared. He's not among us. Yeah, disappeared.

Now we gather to discuss this.

"Have any of you seen him last time?" Mariko as chairman started the discussion.

A look of unease emerged from his voice.

One of us tried to say something. That's a clumsy girl, Sanae.

"Before he said he would help Ishikawa find the right location" he said in a broken voice.

Ishikawa replied.

"Don't he say he'll help you assemble the telescope, Mariko?"

"Don't he help you test the lens, Sanae?"

"But instead of helping you, Ishikawa?"

What are they starting to discuss? They haven't even taken all the tools in my bag.

"What about you?" I turned to look at Ode to ask his opinion.

"I saw him visiting everyone to ask, but then he left for some reason" he said as he tried to recall some things.

"Oh yeah, I saw him in the woods"

Following towards the direction his hand pointed, I saw a fairly dense forest on the other side of the hill.

The forest had no entrance and was dense enough for a forest. I'm not sure how.

The top of this hill was so broad and flat, that the forest seemed so prominent.

The forest turned its back to the mountain on the other side.

Everyone saw where Ode's hand was pointing. I could feel the unrest of one of them.

"Well, we'll split up two people. Group one will go left and group two will go right. The other one will guard this camp and just in case there's anything" Mariko said as she tried to calm down.

If we start the search now, it feels like it might be possible. Moreover, the sun had not completely sunk.

That's according. But I'm not sure about our preparations for a search like this, like a flashlight. I'm pretty sure my bag has no flashlight in it.

"Hey, I previously said this but we don't have a flashlight to do the search"

I said that before Ode raised his hand confidently.

"I brought a flashlight"

—I came here, it shouldn't be for this.

We started searching the forest.

After all when we started to enter, the sun slowly started to completely set.

I hope the moonlight is enough to help illuminate. In other words, I hope tonight isn't foggy.

"Hey, are you serious that he came in here?" I turned around and tried to ask Ode, who became my search companion this time.

I headed to the right of the forest together with Ode. While Mariko and Ishikawa to the left side of the forest. And Sanae guards the camp.

We've been in the woods long enough. As expected.

"Yes, I'm sure it is. After he went around to ask all of us, he went towards the forest. I saw him while I was going around picking up twigs"

If he had time to go around like that, he should have helped me build a camp.

And now he's gone missing. Is he often like this?

"Hey, you're Futaba's classmate, right? What's Futaba like in the classroom? Is he often like this?"

As I pointed the flashlight in various directions, I tried to ask Ode who was behind me.

Seemed silent for a moment, he started talking.

"Hmm, he's stupid"

"So you have a problem with him?"

"No! No, I don't mean like that. But the fact is he's stupid when it comes to learning"

"Seriously, don't you have a problem with him?"

We have been a few minutes exploring this forest by continuing to push a few twigs that we found at once to pick up those that can be brought to the campfire.

Now maybe around six or seven o'clock the sky starts to show a little light and the moon starts to be visible from inside the forest.

I wish there were no wild animals or anything...

*rek*

After I said that, there was a sound of something coming from behind.

"Hey, watch your way ahead. I walk in front of you you should be able to see clearly because I'm holding a flashlight"

"I didn't step on anything. The road is clear after you've passed it"

That's right, too, I cleaned it while I walked. He shouldn't have stepped on anything before me.

"You didn't do anything, did you?"

"No"

I fell silent and pointed the flashlight towards the source of the sound. The voice emerged from the bushes quite close to us.

When the flashlight hits it, the bushes immediately react by moving and making a sound.

"What is that about?" Ask Ode innocently.

I don't know, I don't know. Just as I was about to say that, something suddenly appeared from within the bush...

"It's a snake!"

A small snake emerged from within the bush.

"What do you think we should do?"

"Run?"

"—Ha..ha...ha...capek..."

I said that while trying to catch my breath after running from the snake.

I did not look back and ran as hard as I could.

"Why can a snake exist in a place like this?"

Trying to grouse myself, I tried to turn the flashlight back on.

Then direct the flashlight around me.

"Hmm?"

And then I realized something.

"What is this place?"

Tampa realized, I was in a vast lake in the middle of the forest.

The vast lake reflected the moonlight, I could see it clearly.

From the same reflection I could even see the stars.

Some of the leaves of the tree fell and floated quietly in the puddle, like greeting me the first time he saw.

A lake is isolated within this forest and distanced itself from the outside. That's the impression I got.

"Hmm?"

As I was enjoying the calm atmosphere, something small shadow emerged from within the darkness of the forest and bush.

He came to me.

The more the shadow approached, the more clearly it appeared. Until I can get to know him.

"Cat?"

When I realized that, his form began to appear clearly in my eyes.

No, wait a minute...

"The cat has two tails?"

Feeling that I could see it, the cat approached the lake to drink its water, causing a small wave to break the reflection of the moon and stars.

It was then that I realized that the cat looked just like what Aunt Chihiro had told me before.

A cat with two tails and two souls...

It seems that what Aunt Chihiro said was not just a delusion, before I had doubted it.

Even so, what I remember as well was that this cat had two souls.

When he drank the water, he looked like he had a calm soul.

I approached the cat while drinking.

"Hello" I greeted him as I always say hello to someone.

I held out my hand to the cat.

Later then...

"serrrrrr"

He went on a rampage before I could even touch him.

Then he walked away from me and took a defensive position, thinking of me as a threat.

Strange cat, I just found out that cats can sound like this.

Come to think of it, it's summer. It means that the soul in the cat is a wild soul, if based on the words of Aunt Chihiro.

As I was thinking for a moment, the cat ran away.

"Where'd he go?"

I watched where the cat was running and my eyes fell on a big tree across the lake.

The tree is bigger than the other trees around it.

The cat then disappeared from my sight as it ran through the tree.

"Hmm?"

Or perhaps more accurately, the tree seemed to attract me to approach it.

The tree had its own aura from all the trees that existed. It was like he alone was standing near this lake.

"Eh? How dead?"

Suddenly at a time like this, my flashlight died.

Is the battery out?

Damnit damnit! How'this?

Fortunately, the moonlight was enough to light the way.

I walked slowly around the lake to the tree that was in the lake.

Come to think of it, some fish shadows sometimes appeared from inside the bottom when I tried to look at the lake.

...

"The moon is so clearly visible. The water is clean and calm"

Take me to my daydreams, and forget the important things.

I walked towards the Lonely Tree.

The wind instantly blew and tried to remove some leaves, as well as from the big tree.

And as it got closer, I began to realize how big the tree was. It gives me a little creep.

I feel like I'm in another world. This unique tree stood firm even though some leaves fell from it.

In the middle of me looking at the details of the tree, I realized something.

I saw someone sitting on that tree.

He seems less clear because of the tree, although the moonlight should be able to light it.

From what I know, that figure is a woman.

Once again the wind blew between us and the woman's hair was blown away, indicating that she had long hair.

"Hello" a voice emerged from the less obvious figure. He tried to greet me.

He sat quietly while trying to stroke something I couldn't see because of the shadow of the tree.

"Do you know who I am?"

The voice came out from him again. He said that with a light tone.

"Maybe not, huh? You really shouldn't know. If you knew who I was, it would be a danger sign"

He replied to the question he had thrown himself in a light tone like before.

I haven't even said anything yet.

How do I know I can't see it.

All I could see was a portion of her hair that glittered when it touched the light.

"Have you come here to look for this cat?"

As he said, suddenly something was clearly visible and it was the previous two-tailed cat.

He was eating something and was being caressed by the woman.

Where did the cat come from? I didn't see her before because she was covered in tree shadows.

At that moment, I saw the woman's hand using a bracelet that stroked the two-tailed cat.

Wait, that bracelet.Where have I seen that bracelet before? Where ya?

"Typically this cat has a wild soul during the summer. But if you give her the food she likes, she'll definitely obey you and be calm"

He said something.

The cat was calmly eating something nearby.

As he said, the cat became calm and could even be petted.

If I pay attention to detail, one of the cats is always moving and the other never moves at all.

Occasionally the woman's hand grabs the cat's lower neck and tries to scratch it. The cat seemed happy with what the woman was doing.

After doing that, the woman then stood in the same position. Even so, the shadow of the tree still closed part of his body.

"It seems like it's time for me to do something"

He said that in a voice that was still as light as before.

Taking a step forward, the woman moved from her place.

Again, the wind blows. Make the remaining fallen leaves fall.

So was the woman's hair, which was blown along. Her hair, which was exposed to the moonlight, looked shiny.

"Please take care of Futaba, yes. Manabes"

At that very moment, the woman began to say something that I could not understand.

At once my mind was heavy and I could not control it. It felt like I was going to fall.

At the last moment, I briefly saw how the clear-looking smile of the woman began to show uneasiness from him.

I fainted—

...----------------...

"Hey, wake. Get up, it's morning"

"Hmmm..."

It seems like something is disturbing my sleep right now. I dreamt of being in an earthquake. My whole body feels that.

"Hey wake! If I say wake up, wake up!"

The longer, the more the shock becomes. Makes me want to not have to wake up.

"Hm...Whahuh? Mariko?"

Half-consciously, I said that and started trying to get up.

I tried to sit down and slowly opened my eyes to see someone wake me up.

"Mariko?"

A confused voice came from him and started to approach.

"Hey, wake. I'm not Mariko! Conscious quick!"

The voice re-echoed in my mind. He grabbed both of my shoulders and shook me.

"Hmm? What?"

Following those words, I tried to be fully aware and the shadow began to become clearer. Until it looks like his face is clearly.

"Hmm!?"

At the same time I was surprised, he smiled in relief and started to say hello.

"Good morning brother"

The one who woke me up was Futaba sitting next to me.

I looked around, and realized I was in a camp.

On the other hand, there was someone sleeping next to me. It was Ode.

Even so...

I feel like something strange is going on here. When I realized that...

"It's morning now!?"

Immediately I stood up and headed out to see things.

As I expected, I am now on a large land of hills. I saw the camp I was in.

"What's wrong? Suddenly it came out like that and screamed"

Futaba asked.

"Why is it suddenly morning? Wasn't I in the woods looking for you?"

I'm trying to explain what should have happened to Futaba. About this weirdness.

"Eh? Didn't you bring me back here? I'm not lost anyway, I know the way home. I was out looking for a rock for a campfire and all of a sudden you pulled me home without saying anything"

"I? Who brought you here? Seriously?"

He nodded his head.

What the hell is going on?

It's been like this before. When I duet with Chika's father. I fainted and when I realized suddenly he lost. Like someone was controlling me.

Lately I have also fainted a lot.

"Oh yeah, on the way home you never talk. And when you set up camp and went to sleep without talking. You're like everybody else. What was? Everything is khawar"

Like everyone else...

As I began to think about what was happening, from the other side came someone and greeted me.

"Oh bang, good morning. Are you healthy after sleeping? You never spoke yesterday, so I'm worried"

Mariko comes along with Ishikawa and Sanae.

Seeing how Sanae's reaction looked serious, was like telling her that something was wrong.

I'm sure that the person who brought Futaba back, definitely not me. Must be someone else. I'm sure it's like that.

If so, then who is that person?

At that moment, the wind blew for a number of times I remembered that.

That lady...

Is he still there?

"Wait a minute, I'll be back!"

"What?"

When the wind stopped blowing, I stepped on foot to run into the forest to find out who the woman was.

Is he still there? Can I find him?

"But! Where are you going!?"

Ignoring what Mariko said, I ran into the forest.