“We’ve arrived.”
Junko’s voice cut through the rushing air.
Tewi barely reacted.
She had stopped thrashing as violently somewhere along the way, but her body was still tense in Junko’s arm. One hand remained clenched against the fabric near Junko’s side, while the other pressed against the arm around her waist.
Her ears were pinned back.
She looked down.
The pale surface of the Moon stretched beneath them.
Tewi’s grip tightened.
“I don’t want to die,” she said, her voice strained. “Take me back.”
Junko looked down at her.
Her brows drew together.
“Die?”
Tewi lifted her head, staring at her.
Junko began descending toward the lunar surface.
“I’m not going to hurt you.”
Tewi said nothing.
Her breathing remained uneven, and her fingers stayed curled tightly against Junko’s arm.
Junko’s feet touched the ground.
Tewi moved immediately.
She twisted out of Junko’s grasp and dropped onto her feet, stumbling backward before catching herself.
The moment she regained her balance, she put several more steps between them.
Junko stayed where she was.
Tewi turned to face her.
Her shoulders were raised, her hands held close to her chest, and her ears were still flattened behind her.
Junko watched her for a moment.
Then she took a step forward.
Tewi stepped back.
Junko slowed.
“Tewi.”
Tewi’s eyes remained fixed on her.
“Stay away from me.”
Junko stopped.
Her expression shifted again, confusion giving way to something quieter.
She raised one hand slightly.
Tewi stiffened.
Junko hesitated.
Then she tried to close the distance again.
Tewi jumped back.
Junko stopped immediately.
Her brows arched upward.
The hand she had started to extend remained suspended between them for a second before she slowly withdrew it.
Tewi watched the movement carefully.
When Junko made no attempt to approach again, some of the tension left her shoulders.
Not much.
But enough that she stopped backing away.
Junko lowered her arm fully to her side.
“I told you,” she said. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
Tewi swallowed.
Her ears remained lowered.
“Then take me back.”
Junko stared at her.
For several seconds, neither of them moved.
Tewi’s eyes flicked across the empty lunar landscape around them before returning to Junko.
There was nowhere familiar in sight.
No trees.
No bamboo.
No Eientei.
Only the pale ground beneath her feet and Junko standing several paces away. Off to one side sat a broad wooden chair, its heavy frame looking strangely ordinary against the lunar landscape.
Tewi drew her arms closer to herself.
“I don’t want to be here.”
Junko’s expression softened slightly.
She did not move closer again.
“I know.”
Tewi frowned.
“Then why did you bring me here?”
Junko remained silent for a moment.
Tewi waited, still watching every movement she made.
Junko finally answered.
“There is someone asking for you.”
“Who?”
Tewi’s brows twisted, one rising higher than the other. Her eyes narrowed, and her mouth stayed slightly open, like she was already preparing to argue with whatever answer Junko gave her.
Then a voice rang out across the lunar surface.
“YAAAAY! THE BUNNY MADE IT!”
Tewi’s head snapped around so quickly that her ears whipped through the air.
Her eyes widened.
Clownpiece was skipping toward her, practically bouncing with every step, a huge grin spread across her face.
Tewi stared.
Clownpiece only looked happier the closer she got.
Junko glanced toward her.
“I brought her like you asked.”
Tewi went completely still.
Slowly, she turned her head back toward Junko.
Her eyes were wide now, her pupils small, though not pinpoints.
Her mouth opened.
For a second, nothing came out.
Then—
“You... brought me here...”
Junko looked down at her.
Tewi’s expression tightened.
“FOR A PLAYDATE!?”
Junko blinked once.
“Was that unreasonable?”
Tewi’s entire face snapped from disbelief into outrage.
“I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DIE!”
Clownpiece jumped at the sudden shout, her shoulders jerking upward.
She stared at Tewi, then at Junko.
One brow slowly rose.
Her head tilted to the side.
“Wait... what happened on Earth?”
Tewi whipped around toward her.
“What happened!?”
She jabbed a finger toward Junko.
“She showed up at Eientei, grabbed me, and flew off with me while Reisen and Kaguya were trying to stop her!”
Clownpiece’s grin faded.
Her eyes shifted toward Junko.
Junko remained perfectly calm.
Clownpiece’s head tilted a little farther.
“You... didn’t tell her why?”
Junko looked at her.
“I told her I wasn’t going to hurt her.”
Tewi stared at Junko in disbelief.
“That was AFTER you dragged me all the way to the Moon!”
Junko paused.
For the first time, she seemed to actually consider that.
Clownpiece slowly raised a hand to her mouth.
Not quite hiding a laugh.
Not quite hiding concern either.
Tewi noticed.
“Don’t you start.”
Clownpiece immediately lowered her hand.
“I wasn’t!”
Tewi narrowed her eyes.
“You were.”
Clownpiece looked away.
“Maybe a little.”
Clownpiece looked between Tewi and Junko.
The excitement on her face had faded, replaced by a small crease between her brows.
“You... did tell them you were taking Tewi, right?”
Junko looked at her.
Clownpiece waited.
Her head tilted slightly.
“Right?”
Tewi’s ears shot upright.
“SHE RAN ACROSS THE ROOM AND GRABBED ME!”
Clownpiece flinched at the second outburst.
Junko’s gaze shifted toward Tewi.
For once, she hesitated.
Her eyes moved aside for a moment before returning to the rabbit.
“In hindsight... that may have been excessive.”
Tewi stared at her.
Her hands flew outward.
“YOU LOOKED AT ME LIKE YOU WERE MAD AT ME!”
Junko blinked.
“That’s... my normal expression.”
Tewi’s mouth remained open.
For several seconds, she seemed unable to find anything to say to that.
Clownpiece looked from Tewi to Junko, then back again. The concern on her face grew a little more noticeable.
“Does that mean more people are coming?”
Tewi slowly turned toward her.
Then the question seemed to properly register.
Her ears stiffened.
“Reisen is definitely coming.”
She lifted one hand, counting on her fingers as she thought.
“And Kaguya. Eirin too, probably.”
Tewi paused.
Her eyes widened slightly.
“Actually... if Reisen tells Eirin what happened, then Eirin is definitely coming.”
Clownpiece watched another finger rise.
“And if Kaguya decides she needs help...”
Tewi stopped.
Her face tightened.
“Mokou.”
Clownpiece’s eyes widened.
Tewi looked back toward the direction Junko had carried her from, as though expecting figures to appear over the horizon at any moment.
“And knowing them, they probably think this is a rescue mission.”
Silence followed.
Junko stood motionless for a few seconds.
Then she turned away.
Junko walked over to the chair and sat down.
Rather than maintaining her usual straight posture, she slumped into the chair.
One hand came up to her forehead.
Her eyes closed.
“That went unreasonably well.”
Tewi slowly turned toward her.
“WELL!?”
Junko did not open her eyes.
Tewi stared at her for another moment before turning away with an irritated huff.
Clownpiece remained quiet.
She looked at Junko.
Then Tewi.
Then toward the empty distance.
Her concern lasted another few seconds.
Then something seemed to occur to her.
“Oh!”
Tewi glanced over.
Clownpiece hurried away.
Tewi watched her go, confused, before returning her attention to the horizon.
She folded her arms.
“Reisen saw the whole thing...”
Her foot began tapping against the ground.
“Kaguya was right there too. So they're both coming.”
She frowned.
“And Reisen will tell Eirin.”
Another pause.
“Unless Eirin already knows.”
Her ears lowered slightly.
“And if they think Junko actually kidnapped me...”
Tewi grimaced.
This was getting worse the longer she thought about it.
Behind her, Junko remained slumped in the chair, fingers still resting against her forehead.
Footsteps approached again.
Tewi turned.
Clownpiece came skipping back toward them, carrying a colorful rectangular box in both hands.
Tewi stared at it.
Clownpiece dropped down onto the ground and placed the box between them.
She pulled off the lid.
Inside was a board covered in numbered squares, winding paths, ladders and long twisting snakes.
Tewi looked down at it.
Then back toward the horizon.
Clownpiece began arranging the pieces.
Tewi barely noticed.
“Maybe Reisen won't bring everyone,” she muttered.
Clownpiece placed two pieces at the beginning of the board.
“But she probably will.”
The dice rattled against the board as Clownpiece set them down.
Tewi rubbed at the side of her head.
“And Kaguya might bring Mokou anyway. Those two will fight each other over anything, but this—”
Something bumped against her hand.
Tewi stopped.
She looked down.
Clownpiece was holding the dice out to her.
Tewi stared at them.
Then at Clownpiece.
Clownpiece pushed them insistently into her palm.
Tewi looked at the dice now sitting in her hand.
“I’m trying to figure out how many people are coming to rescue me.”
Clownpiece pointed eagerly at the board.
“You can do that while you play.”
Tewi stared at her.
Then she glanced toward Junko.
Junko hadn't moved.
Tewi looked back at the board.
Her fingers slowly closed around the dice.
She still didn't roll them.
“Reisen is going to be furious.”
Clownpiece waited patiently, both hands resting beside the board.
Tewi sighed.
Her shoulders finally dropped a little.
She gave the dice a reluctant shake.
“This is the stupidest kidnapping ever.”
Eirin sat behind her desk, a small stack of medical reports resting in one hand.
The room around her was quiet. Shelves lined one wall, filled with books, medicine containers, and neatly arranged supplies. Several more papers lay across the broad wooden desk in front of her, separated into tidy piles.
Eirin lowered her eyes to the report at the top of the stack.
Her brows drew together slightly.
“How does one even sprain an ankle like that? It was a brisk jog.”
She turned the page.
Her expression flattened.
“Head injuries are not a joke. They could have gotten a concussion.”
Another report slid to the front.
Eirin read several lines.
She paused.
“Those cuts weren't even that deep. Why did they bleed so much?”
The door burst open.
Eirin's head snapped up.
Her grip loosened.
The reports slipped from her fingers and scattered across the desk, several pages sliding over one another and ruining the neat piles she had arranged.
Reisen and Kaguya stood in the doorway.
Eirin stared at them.
Reisen's tie hung crooked around her neck. Both of her ears were bent at awkward angles, one leaning farther to the side than the other. Her breathing was still uneven, and several strands of hair clung messily around her face.
Kaguya looked little better.
Her clothes were badly wrinkled around the sleeves and waist, and her long hair had become disheveled, loose strands falling over her shoulders and across one side of her face.
Neither of them spoke immediately.
Eirin's eyes moved between them.
“What happened?”
Reisen stepped forward.
“Junko took Tewi.”
Eirin froze.
Her mouth tightened.
Her eyes widened, her brows pulling sharply together as her pupils shrank slightly.
For a second, she said nothing.
Then—
“When?”
The word came out sharp.
Reisen blinked.
“Just now. A few minutes ago.”
Eirin's expression hardened.
Her eyes narrowed.
“Tell me exactly what happened.”
Kaguya came farther into the room, one hand still pushing loose hair away from her face.
“She came to Eientei asking for Tewi.”
Reisen cut in immediately.
“She didn't explain why.”
Eirin's gaze shifted toward her.
Reisen's hands curled at her sides.
“She just stood there looking at us like—”
Reisen stopped herself.
Kaguya finished for her.
“Like she had already decided what was going to happen.”
Reisen nodded quickly.
“Then she moved.”
Her ears twitched.
“She crossed the room before I could even get to Tewi.”
Kaguya's jaw tightened.
“She grabbed her around the waist.”
Eirin's fingers pressed against the edge of the desk.
Reisen continued before Eirin could ask anything else.
“Tewi was struggling. She was yelling at her to let go.”
Kaguya shifted her weight, one hand rubbing against her arm.
“We tried to stop her.”
Reisen moved up beside her.
““She threw us off before we could get close.”
Eirin's gaze sharpened.
“She attacked you?”
Reisen hesitated.
“Not exactly.”
Eirin stared at her.
Reisen frowned, frustrated by the question.
“She didn't stand there and fight us. She just... moved us out of the way.”
Kaguya rubbed one hand against her arm.
“Hard enough.”
Eirin glanced toward her.
Kaguya's expression darkened.
“She wasn't trying to kill us.”
A pause.
“But she wasn't letting us reach Tewi either.”
Reisen leaned forward.
“And Tewi was screaming the whole time.”
Eirin's face tightened again.
Reisen's voice dropped slightly.
“She kept saying she didn't want to go with her.”
Kaguya looked down for a moment, then back at Eirin.
“Junko didn't explain anything.”
Reisen shook her head.
“Nothing.”
Eirin's eyes narrowed further.
“Did she threaten Tewi?”
Reisen opened her mouth.
Then stopped.
Her ears lowered slightly.
“No.”
Eirin waited.
Reisen frowned.
“But she didn't need to.”
Kaguya glanced at her.
Reisen turned toward Eirin again.
“She looked furious.”
Kaguya's expression remained tense.
“She always looks severe.”
Reisen snapped her head toward her.
“That didn't make it any less terrifying when she was carrying Tewi away.”
Kaguya didn't answer.
Eirin slowly straightened behind the desk.
“Where did she take her?”
The room went quiet.
Reisen and Kaguya looked at each other.
Reisen swallowed.
“The Moon.”
Eirin's expression changed again.
Her lips pressed into a thin line.
The hand resting on the desk curled slightly.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then her gaze dropped toward the scattered medical reports.
She wasn't looking at them anymore.
She was thinking.
Reisen watched her closely.
Kaguya's hands tightened together in front of her.
Neither of them looked reassured.
Eirin’s gaze remained lowered.
The reports scattered across her desk had stopped mattering.
Reisen and Kaguya remained standing on the other side, neither willing to interrupt the silence.
Eirin’s fingers slowly uncurled against the wood.
Then she looked up.
“Reisen.”
Reisen straightened.
“I want some of the rabbits gathered.”
Reisen’s ears lifted slightly.
“Not everyone,” Eirin continued. “Choose whoever you think will be useful. For now, I want them here and ready.”
Reisen nodded.
“Alright.”
She turned toward the door.
Kaguya watched her leave before looking back at Eirin.
“What are you thinking?”
“That we still know very little.”
Eirin glanced toward the doorway Reisen had disappeared through.
“Junko came here specifically for Tewi. She took her to the Moon without explaining why, but apparently made no attempt to seriously injure either of you.”
Kaguya’s brows drew together.
“That doesn’t make me feel much better.”
“It shouldn’t.”
Eirin leaned back slightly in her chair.
Kaguya looked toward the floor.
For a few seconds, she said nothing.
Then her eyes shifted toward the open doorway.
“If we go after her…”
Eirin watched her.
Kaguya’s expression tightened.
“We may need someone else.”
Eirin waited.
Kaguya pushed a loose strand of hair away from her face.
The thought seemed to annoy her more the longer she considered it.
Finally, she exhaled through her nose.
“Mokou.”
Eirin’s eyebrows rose slightly.
Kaguya gave her a look.
“Don’t.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You were going to.”
Eirin’s mouth moved slightly, but whatever response she had considered never came.
Kaguya turned toward the door.
“If this turns into a fight, I’d rather have her with us than somewhere in the forest completely unaware of what happened.”
“You think she’ll agree?”
Kaguya stopped in the doorway.
Her hand rested against the frame.
“She will when I tell her who was taken.”
Then she stepped into the corridor.
Eirin watched her disappear.
For the first time since Reisen and Kaguya had burst into the room, she was alone again.
Her gaze returned to the scattered medical reports.
One page had slid almost completely beneath another.
Eirin reached toward it.
Her fingers touched the corner.
She stopped.
After a moment, she withdrew her hand.

Reisen moved quickly through Eientei.
The corridors immediately outside Eirin’s room were quiet.
Her footsteps tapped against the wooden floor as she passed closed doors and adjoining rooms, occasionally glancing through an open doorway.
Nobody.
She continued farther.
One of her ears had mostly straightened again. The other still bent awkwardly near the top.
Reisen reached another corridor and slowed.
Somewhere ahead came a faint, repetitive sound.
Snip.
A pause.
Snip. Snip.
Then voices.
“No, the ears need to be longer.”
“They are long.”
“They look like horns.”
“They do not.”
Reisen stopped.
Another series of snips followed.
“They absolutely do.”
Reisen continued toward the voices.
The corridor opened into an indoor garden.
Light filtered down into the enclosed space, falling across patches of greenery arranged between stone paths. Several carefully maintained bushes occupied the center and edges of the garden.
Five earth rabbits were scattered among them.
None had noticed Reisen.
Two stood on opposite sides of the same bush, each holding a pair of gardening shears.
The shrub between them had been trimmed into something vaguely resembling an animal.
One rabbit stepped back and tilted her head.
“See?”
The other stared at it.
“I see a fox.”
“It’s a rabbit.”
“Then where are its ears?”
The first rabbit pointed with her shears.
“Those are the ears.”
Her companion stared.
“Those?”
“Yes.”
“Those are horns.”
The first rabbit frowned and immediately returned to trimming.
A short distance away, another rabbit was working on a bush of her own.
Unlike the others, she had apparently abandoned whatever shape she had originally been assigned.
She leaned to one side, narrowed her eyes at the shrub and carefully clipped away another small cluster of leaves.
One of the arguing rabbits glanced over.
“What are you making?”
The rabbit continued cutting.
“A dragon.”
There was a pause.
“You were supposed to make a crane.”
“I changed my mind.”
“You can’t just change it.”
Another snip.
“I already did.”
The first rabbit stared at her.
The self-appointed sculptor stepped back to inspect her work.
At present, the supposed dragon looked more like an uneven mass with something protruding from one side.
She nodded approvingly anyway.
“Needs wings.”
Near the far end of the garden, the remaining two rabbits paid none of them any attention.
One was crouched beside a smaller shrub, trimming tiny pieces from around a rounded section with painstaking care.
The other slowly circled her own bush, stopping every few steps to inspect it from another angle before removing a single leaf.
“Maybe shorten this side,” the crouching rabbit murmured.
The other didn't look up.
“No.”
“I was talking about mine.”
“Oh.”
Neither said anything else.
Reisen stood at the entrance.
For a few seconds, she simply watched them.
The rabbit making the dragon leaned closer to her bush again.
Snip.
Reisen drew a breath.
“Hey.”
The shears stopped.
Five pairs of ears reacted almost simultaneously.
Heads turned toward her.
The rabbit beside the supposed rabbit-shaped bush blinked.
“Reisen?”
Her eyes moved over her.
First the crooked tie.
Then the messy hair.
Then the bent ear.
Her expression changed.
“What happened to you?”
The others began looking more closely as well.
Reisen stepped farther into the garden.
“I need some of you to come with me.”
The rabbit holding the shears lowered them.
“For what?”
Reisen looked across the group.
The two who had been arguing were watching her now.
So was the rabbit with the unfinished dragon.
The other two had finally abandoned their meticulous trimming and turned completely toward her.
Reisen hesitated.
Her hands tightened slightly at her sides.
“Tewi’s been taken.”
Nobody moved.
The rabbit nearest her blinked.
“What?”
Reisen swallowed.
“Junko came to Eientei a few minutes ago.”
The rabbit with the dragon slowly lowered her shears.
Reisen continued.
“She grabbed Tewi and left with her.”
The garden went completely quiet.
One of the rabbits near the far end stood up.
“Left where?”
Reisen looked at her.
“The Moon.”
Several expressions changed at once.
The rabbit beside the animal-shaped bush stared at Reisen, her ears slowly lowering.
“She took Tewi to the Moon?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Reisen’s jaw tightened.
“We don’t know.”
The rabbit nearest Reisen lowered her shears slightly.
“Taken?”
The rabbit who had been making the dragon looked down at the shears in her hand.
Then she placed them on the ground.
The rabbit beside her did the same.
Across the garden, one of the other rabbits was already standing.
Reisen looked between them.
Eirin had left the choice to her.
She took another breath.
“Alright.”
Her eyes moved across the garden again.
This time, she wasn't looking at bushes.
She was looking at them.
The rabbit nearest Reisen was the first to move.
She lowered her shears to her side.
“Taken?”
Reisen nodded.
The rabbit beside the misshapen animal-shaped bush glanced toward the others.
“What do you mean, taken?”
“She came looking for Tewi,” Reisen said. “She wouldn't tell us why.”
Her ears lowered slightly.
“When she found her, she grabbed her. Kaguya and I tried to stop her.”
The rabbit who had been working on the dragon frowned.
“And?”
Reisen's mouth tightened.
“We couldn't.”
The answer left the garden quiet again.
One of the two rabbits from the far end looked Reisen over once more, lingering on her crooked tie and bent ear.
“Did she hurt Tewi?”
“I didn't see her hurt her.”
Reisen paused.
“But Tewi was struggling. She kept telling her to let go.”
The rabbit's expression tightened.
Another looked down at the shears still in her hands.
“Why would she take Tewi?”
“I don't know.”
“Did Tewi do something?”
“I don't know.”
“Did Junko say anything?”
“Nothing that explained this.”
The rabbit beside the animal-shaped bush lowered her shears slightly.
Her brows had drawn together.
“Junko…”
She looked at Reisen.
“The... one who attacked the Lunar Capital?”
Reisen didn't answer immediately.
Her eyes shifted away.
For a moment, the only sound in the garden was the faint rustle of leaves.
Then she looked back at them.
“...Yes.”
Nobody spoke.
The rabbit who had been making the dragon stared down at her unfinished topiary.
The one beside her shifted her weight.
At the far end of the garden, one rabbit slowly rose from her crouch beside the stone border.
Finally, the rabbit who had asked about Junko spoke again.
“And Tewi is on the Moon with her.”
“Yes.”
Another pause.
“What does Eirin want us to do?”
Reisen looked between them.
“She wants rabbits gathered and ready.”
“For what?”
“We haven't decided yet.”
The rabbit frowned.
Reisen continued before anyone else could speak.
“Eirin is figuring that out now. She told me to choose who I thought would be useful.”
The rabbit who had been making the dragon looked up.
“And you picked us?”
Reisen glanced around the garden.
Her eyes moved from one rabbit to the next.
“I haven't asked you yet.”
That caught them off guard.
Reisen drew a breath.
“I don't know what we're going to find if we go after her. I don't know why Junko wanted Tewi, and I can't tell you this won't become dangerous.”
Her hands curled slightly at her sides.
“But I'm going.”
The rabbit beside the animal-shaped bush looked at her.
“To the Moon?”
“If that's where we have to go.”
Reisen's gaze passed across all five of them.
“I want you with me.”
Nobody answered immediately.
The rabbit who had been carefully trimming the smaller shrub looked toward her companion.
Her companion was already looking back.
Neither seemed particularly eager.
The rabbit who had insisted the topiary was a rabbit rubbed her thumb against the handle of her shears.
“Going after someone who attacked the Lunar Capital…”
She trailed off.
The rabbit who had been making the dragon turned toward her.
“She took Tewi.”
“I know.”
“Then what are we going to do? Stay here and finish the bushes?”
The other rabbit looked toward the unfinished topiary.
Her mouth tightened.
“No.”
She crouched and placed her shears on the stone path.
“I’m coming.”
The dragon-making rabbit immediately put hers beside them.
“Me too.”
At the far end of the garden, one of the two rabbits stood completely upright.
She looked nervous.
Her ears had lowered, and she kept glancing between Reisen and the others.
Still, after a moment, she set her shears down.
“If Tewi's really up there…”
She swallowed.
“I'll go.”
The rabbit beside her sighed quietly.
“You weren't going without me anyway.”
She put her own shears aside.
Four.
Reisen looked toward the last rabbit.
The one who had recognized Junko.
She was still standing beside the misshapen topiary.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she looked at the bush.
She reached forward and clipped one tiny protruding branch.
Snip.
The rabbit stared at the result.
“Still looks like a fox.”
The rabbit beside her frowned.
“It is a rabbit.”
“I know.”
She placed the shears down.
Then she turned toward Reisen.
“Let's go get ours back.”
The Bamboo Forest rushed past beneath Kaguya.
She flew low, barely a few feet above the ground, weaving between the towering stalks without slowing.
Dry leaves scattered beneath her.
A light trail of dust followed in her wake, hanging between the bamboo before slowly settling again.
Kaguya's eyes swept across the forest.
Between the stalks.
Across the narrow paths.
Into every clearing she passed.
Nothing.
Her brows drew tighter.
She leaned forward and flew faster.
Several bamboo leaves tore loose as she passed.
Farther ahead, Mokou rested against a thick bamboo stalk.
One leg was bent slightly, her shoulder pressed against the bamboo as she idly turned an apple in one hand.
She raised it to her mouth.
A rush of air swept through the forest.
Mokou's hair whipped across her face.
Dust rolled over the path.
Kaguya shot past.
Mokou lowered the apple.
Her eyes followed Kaguya as she disappeared between the bamboo.
She blinked.
"...Kaguya?"
There was no answer.
Mokou pushed some hair away from her face and stared after her.
Then she glanced at the dust settling around her feet.
A small grin appeared.
She took another bite from the apple and settled against the bamboo again.
A little while passed.
The forest became quiet once more.
Mokou continued eating.
Then a distant rush began somewhere between the bamboo.
She stopped chewing.
The sound grew louder.
Her eyes shifted toward it.
The grin returned.
"No way."
Kaguya came tearing through the forest again.
Still low.
Still fast.
Still searching.
Her long hair streamed wildly behind her. Her clothes were badly wrinkled, and her eyes darted through the bamboo with such focus that she barely seemed to register what was directly in front of her.
Mokou watched her approach.
She didn't move.
Kaguya flew straight past her.
Again.
Mokou turned her head and watched her go.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then a quiet laugh escaped her.
She pushed herself away from the bamboo.
"Kaguya!"
Kaguya jerked to a stop.
The sudden halt sent another wave of dust rolling along the ground beneath her.
She hovered there for a moment.
Then slowly turned around.
Mokou stood behind her, the apple still in one hand.
She was smiling now.
Kaguya stared at her.
Mokou raised an eyebrow.
"Were you so busy trying to find me you forgot to catch me?"
Kaguya's expression went deadpan.
"You could have said something."
Mokou took one last bite from the apple.
"And miss seeing you fly around like a headless duck?"
She tossed the core into the undergrowth.
"Not a chance."
Kaguya's eyes narrowed.
Mokou folded her arms, clearly waiting.
Normally, that would have been enough.
Kaguya would have answered with something equally irritating, and neither of them would have let the matter go.
Instead, Kaguya flew back toward her.
Mokou's grin lingered for another moment.
Then Kaguya landed.
Her feet slid slightly across the dirt.
Mokou finally got a proper look at her.
Kaguya's hair was disheveled. Deep wrinkles ran through her clothes. A few loose strands clung to the side of her face, and her breathing was still heavier than usual.
The grin disappeared.
Mokou unfolded her arms.
"...What happened?"
Kaguya looked directly at her.
"I need your help."
Mokou went still.
“you need my help”
"Yes."
Mokou stared at her.
No insult followed.
No smug remark.
Kaguya didn't even seem bothered by having to admit it.
Mokou straightened.
"Alright. What happened?"
"Junko came to Eientei."
Mokou's expression changed immediately.
Her brows drew together.
"...Junko?"
"Yes."
"The one you told me about?"
Kaguya nodded.
Mokou's eyes narrowed.
"What did she want?"
"Tewi."
Mokou paused.
"Tewi?"
"She came asking for her. She wouldn't tell us why."
Kaguya's hands tightened slightly at her sides.
"Then she crossed the room, grabbed Tewi around the waist and left."
Mokou stared at her.
"She just grabbed her?"
"Yes."
"And Tewi went willingly?"
"No."
Mokou's expression hardened.
"Reisen and I tried to stop her."
Her eyes briefly moved over Kaguya's wrinkled clothes.
Kaguya continued.
"Junko threw us aside. She didn't stay to fight. She just kept going."
"Was Tewi hurt?"
"I didn't see Junko hurt her."
"Did she threaten her?"
"No."
Mokou's eyes remained fixed on Kaguya.
"But Tewi was struggling. She kept telling Junko to let her go."
The last trace of amusement disappeared from Mokou's face.
"Where did she take her?"
"The Moon."
Mokou was silent.
A few bamboo leaves drifted slowly between them.
Then she stepped away from the stalk.
"Alright."
Kaguya blinked.
Mokou started past her.
"Let's go."
Kaguya turned.
"That's it?"
Mokou stopped and looked back at her.
"You came flying through the forest like an idiot, asked me for help, and told me Junko dragged Tewi to the Moon."
She turned forward again.
"What else do I need to hear?"
Kaguya watched her for a moment.
Then followed.
"Eirin is deciding what we're going to do. Reisen is gathering some of the rabbits."
"So we're going back to Eientei first."
"Yes."
Mokou gave a small nod.
Neither of them said anything else.
A moment later, they rose from the forest floor and disappeared between the bamboo.
The room was one of the larger chambers in Eientei.
Tatami mats covered the floor from wall to wall. A low wooden table stood near the center, leaving plenty of open space around it. Along one side of the room, the shoji had been drawn open, exposing the narrow wooden veranda beyond.
Late afternoon light reached through the opening and stretched across the tatami in long pale strips.
Beyond the veranda, the Bamboo Forest stood almost completely still.
A few leaves shifted in the breeze.
The room itself was empty.
For a moment.
Footsteps approached from the corridor.
Eirin appeared in the doorway.
Several folded maps and a small stack of papers rested beneath one arm.
She stepped inside and crossed the room, her footsteps nearly silent against the tatami.
At the table, she lowered the papers first.
Then the maps.
She unfolded one of them halfway, stopped, and glanced toward the doorway.
Nothing.
Eirin straightened the stack beside it.
Her fingers tapped once against the edge of the table.
Then stopped.
More footsteps came from the corridor.
Several this time.
Eirin looked up.
Reisen appeared first.
Five earth rabbits followed close behind her.
The group slowed as they reached the doorway.
Reisen stepped inside immediately.
The rabbits were less uniform about it.
One entered behind her and moved to the side. Two others came through almost shoulder to shoulder before separating. Another lingered at the threshold for a moment, looking around the room before following.
The last rabbit stepped through with a few small clipped leaves still caught against one of her sleeves.
Eirin's eyes briefly settled on them.
Then returned to Reisen.
"I found some," Reisen said.
Eirin looked across the five rabbits.
"Good."
The rabbits looked back at her.
None of them spoke.
Reisen moved farther into the room, and the five followed.
They hadn't gotten far when a sudden rush of air swept across the veranda.
The open shoji rattled softly.
Every pair of rabbit ears turned toward it.
Something landed outside.
A second impact followed a moment later.
Kaguya stepped onto the veranda.
Her long hair was still disheveled, loose strands scattered across her face and shoulders. Her clothes remained badly wrinkled from what had happened earlier, and the flight through the Bamboo Forest had done nothing to improve them.
Mokou landed behind her.
Kaguya stepped through the open shoji.
Mokou followed.
She made it two steps into the room before stopping.
Her eyes moved to Eirin.
Then Reisen.
Then the five earth rabbits gathered behind her.
One eyebrow rose.
She glanced sideways at Kaguya.
"You weren't kidding."
Kaguya looked at her.
"I rarely fly through the forest twice for something unimportant."
Mokou's mouth curled slightly.
"Twice?"
Kaguya's expression flattened.
Mokou held her gaze for a second.
Then looked away.
Reisen stared between them.
"You found her."
"Eventually," Mokou said.
Kaguya slowly turned her head toward her.
Mokou's mouth twitched again.
One of the rabbits made a small sound through her nose.
The rabbit beside her immediately nudged her.
Silence returned.
Eirin's gaze moved across the room.
Reisen stood with the five rabbits she had chosen.
Kaguya and Mokou remained near the open shoji.
Mokou folded her arms.
One of the rabbits shifted her weight.
Another glanced briefly toward Reisen before looking back at Eirin.
Outside, the bamboo leaves rustled softly.
Eirin lowered her eyes to the table.
She reached for the half-open map and pulled it toward the center.
The paper slid across the wood.
Every eye in the room followed it.
Eirin unfolded the rest.
"Alright."
The room went completely still.
Eirin placed one hand against the edge of the map.
"Let's decide how we're bringing Tewi home."