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“Hey! Whatcha doin’ just standing there like that?!” He came out from the building and rushed right next to me. He followed my gaze into the forest. By the time he got to where I was looking at, the strange figure had already gone.

“You’re a strange little kid, you know that?” I followed him into the house. The inside looked much bigger than the size of how it looked outside. There was a large painting of soldiers on horses with spears, and two brown wooden doors leading to rooms on the left wall. Near the right wall was a small, couch, made out of firm grass and easily bendable wood. There were also a few candles to see in the dark and a window. On the wall in the front, was another door, leading to another room, but this door was made out of metal.

“The first door on the left is my room; you can sleep there. The second door on the left is Andrew’s room. (And don’t you dare go in there, little kid,” Andrew added as if other people couldn’t hear him.) Sorry, he doesn’t like people going into his privacy, especially his room. So, for the first few days, I want you to rest up yourself and read up on what we want you to be able to encounter, then we’re off to the training.”

That night, when I was shown Adam’s room, I was surprised to see that it was neat and clean. Most men’s houses aren’t very tidy, let alone their rooms. Once I was in the bed, Adam shut the door, and I was all alone. The blankets felt warm and soft, and the pillow was delightfully fluffy. There was only one window in the room, and it had been open to the slightest visible crack. The sound of the rushing water was annoying. But I had no choice other than sleeping in here or sleeping on the so-called couch. I turned on my side. Even with the limited amount of light, you could still see many books on shelves, and a wooden desk in a small corner, with many stacks of paper. So much has happened in so little time… With that, I fell asleep.

I woke with a sudden jolt. Sweat was rolling across my skin. The light from the window told me it was morning, but to me it still felt like night. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t forget what happened in my nightmare, the horror was too—
There were many impatient knocks on the door, and not much later, came Andrew’s voice, howling through the door like a wild gust of wind. “Hey!! Are you even awake yet?! Or are you finally dead?! WAKE UP!!!” Then he left.

I sighed. I didn’t even know where this place is, or what it’s even called. All this made me think that it was my classmates from back at school. But why this much effort? Why on me? Nothing seemed to make sense. I got off the bed with a sigh, and could hear the two men having a conversation. Once again, Andrew knocks impatiently on the door. “Hey! Master says to wear that dress!” Then he left again.

It seemed as if I was being controlled by those two men. Both of them hardly seem five years older than me. But even though I didn’t want to be controlled like that, I still had to do what I was told, so I did.

The Main Room was lit by candlesticks. An aroma of a combination of melted wax and fire lingered in the room. The two men were already eating their breakfast, and just seeing them made me wonder Where am I? And who are they?

Finally, one of them got up from sitting on the floor, while the other still ignored the fact that I was even here. He cleared his throat, waited for a moment, and finally spoke. “It seems as if we haven’t properly introduced ourselves yet. My name is Adam Kibachi.” He bowed after he spoke his name. Then he pointed to the man still eating. “That,” he said with a sudden jolt of his finger, “is Andrew Evans.” He turned back to me. “So, what’s your name?”

Everything seemed so new to me, that I’ve almost forgotten about myself. “Y-yukari… Hanabata…” I spoke with a slight quiver in my voice.

“Well then, Andrew, why don’t you come and say hello to our guest?”
Andrew stayed silent for a moment, but then he also got up and said “I’m finished. I’ll go clean the dishes.” He took the dishes and went to the kitchen. Now I knew that the kitchen and bathroom was located in the tiny corner to the right of the metal door in the back.

Adam turned back to me. “Sorry about that. Andrew doesn’t really like to communicate with others that much. Here, have breakfast first and then I’ll show you the books I want you to finish by the time this week is up.”

I sat there on the bed reading Fiery Fiends: How To Get Rid of Them. It was already afternoon, about three or four o’clock. So far I’ve completed two other books: Potions for Witches and Weeds and Plants for Potion-Making. They all seemed like it was coming from a fantasy tale. Somehow now, I was convinced that this wasn’t a prank from the school, but maybe just a dream. I laid on the bed. It helps me think better. If this were a dream… then my thoughts would affect it! Hm… should I think of a dragon burning down the village? Or a mass murderer plundering through the streets? Even though I thought of these things, nothing seemed to happen. If this isn’t a dream… what is it…? Outside, I heard Adam say (in a muffled voice) “Hey Andrew, I’m going to get some more things to eat. You watch over the house, alright?”

Riffling a few more pages of the book with my thumb, I closed the book, and thought that was enough for the day. It was too early for dinner, and the view from the window outside looked spectacular. If it looked so wonderful even through a dirty window, it must look even better outside! Tippy-toeing and being as quiet with the door as I could, I snuck out of the room, and entered the living room. Andrew seemed to be in his room. Slowly, I walked to the front door and exited.

Outside was a bit hot and sunny, but the wind and clouds eventually took all that away. The rushing stream was even noisier out here than inside. Trees were rustling because of the wind and occasionally, you could see small fishes jump out of the water or swim past in the shallow areas. There were a few flowers, and they were either blue or purple.

I sat on the edge of the stream. Being trapped in the room for most of the day made me feel exhausted, even though I was just reading. I took my shoes off and waded in the stream. The water rushing through your toes makes you feel relaxed and comforted, like a giant pillow underneath your feet. Sometimes, there was a slight tickle on my toes; a fish just swam by. Everything felt so assuring. No mama to come and yell at me; no Andrew to ruin this moment; no weird things happening.

Just then, another fish jumped out of the water. At first sight, it looked stupendous. But, after a while, the fish was only glittering because of its well-polished scales. The regular skin’s color was black. It was large – larger than the other fish that had leaped out of the water. The face was flat on side view, and its nose was extended much further than the body length; its whole face was as white as a bleached bone. The face even looked like it was made of bone. Its head turned towards me. It felt as if my last breath of air was already gone. The eyes were gleaming red, and it didn’t take them off of me. It had the same face as the el Diablo face monster had. Then I just noticed – the fish didn’t go right back into the water right after it jumped out of water! It was just floating there, like gravity was nothing. It suddenly started to rain. Fog slowly rolled in. The eyes were still staring at me; still gleaming red. Then, it disappeared into the fog. I was still shocked.