Souls In Hiding

Burning of the Witch... Maybe

The four prisoners had finally healed after only a few weeks of care, and Kaede's magic. Each one was back to their usual selves and easily settled into their new routines amongst the cabin. All sixteen friends had collected around the firepit under the night sky, a tradition that had become routine to end off the busy day. Kirumi manipulated the flames to make animal figures appear which pleased Gonta immensely.

"The firewood's running out," Ryoma mumbled.

"Let's all split up and grab as much as we can, we need a lot if it's going to last the night," Rantaro informed. Multiple voices shouted out to volunteer for the role. Shuichi, Ryoma, Rantaro, Kiibo, Himiko and Tenko made their way towards their own areas in the woods. 

Shuichi piled chunk after chunk of wood in his arms. It was difficult to find proper firewood around as they had been looting the woods for weeks, but Shuichi managed the impossible feat. He couldn't see any of the others nearby, the only sign of life was the yellow flames bouncing through the trees.

That was until a shriek accompanied the flames, sending Shuichi's heart racing as he dropped his firewood to the ground with a thunk. Hurrying through the foliage, he ran towards the origin of the shriek to find another flame licking the feet of a girl tied to a tree. Tenko struggled against a net that hoisted her into the air whilst Himiko cried, blindfolded and unable to twist free from the ropes binding her ankles and wrists to a dead, flaming log.

Shuichi rushed over, ensuring he did not feed the almost full fire with any wind he may create with his speed. Stomping out the fire, he ripped the ropes from the tree and caught Himiko as she fell, shaking with fear and horror from her near-death experience. The witch threw the blindfold from her head as she lay on the prickly grass. 

"Prepare to land," Shuichi warned the tangled Tenko as she fell to the ground in a heap, falling through the rip in the bottom of the net that Shuichi tore open. "What happened?" He questioned, concerned that such an intricate trap occurred.

"I couldn't tell, I heard Himiko scream but a net came out of nowhere and suddenly I was upside down." Tenko drawled, her head swaying as she attempted to shake off the dizziness. Shuichi lay her down on the grass and turned to Himiko for her story.

"Someone came up behind me and covered my eyes. I felt the rope around me and heard two rocks hitting each other but that was it. It took a few seconds before I felt the fire." The witch held back tears as she sat up, staring at her blistered calves and charred skirt.

"I'll get you guys back to the cabin, we'll sort this out." Shuichi lifted Himiko bridal style due to her injuries but soon found himself shoved to the ground as Tenko carried her girlfriend towards the fire. The vampire scrambled to his feet and jogged up to the girls, approaching the dwindling campfire.

"Wow, you guys only had to get wood and you can't even do that?" Kokichi groaned. "Even Kiiboy managed to get some!" 

"I bet they had a hot affair!" Miu shouted, earning a few disapproving glances. 

"You guys didn't hear the scream?" Shuichi didn't understand, Himiko screamed so loud that surely everyone heard. 

"Oh my Lord Himiko! Lie down I'll heal you!" Kaede rushed to Himiko's side, people gasped as they noticed her burns. 

"I'm... cold..." Shuichi's heart almost stopped as Himiko spoke.

"She's in shock, Kaede can you make a blanket. Tenko please keep her calm."

"This is the only time I'll listen to a man." Tenko spat the last word before stroking Himiko's hair, soothing the small girl. Kaede created a blanket as per Shuichi's instructions and wrapped up her fellow witch friend. As the two girls cared for Himiko, Shuichi took the chance to explain what happened to the rest of the confused group of possible suspects.

"Where's the net?" Maki stood, making her way towards the trees where Shuichi, Tenko and Himiko appeared. Shuichi ran to catch up to her, mimicking her pace as the ex-knight was lead towards the net still hanging limp from a branch. She yanked the net, branch coming with it as Maki inspected the leather edging, deep in thought. "The royal seal."

"We need to tell the others." Shuichi and Maki nodded at each other, understanding what, or more specifically, who was after them. They raced back towards camp, startling their friends as Kaede finished up a healing spell. "Look at this." Shuichi glanced at Maki, subconsciously telling her to show the seal they found on the net.

"It's probably a trap that some knights set up on a hunt." Ryoma's deep voice penetrated everyone's thoughts.

"You may be right Ryoma, but Himiko started burning at a stake!" Angie reminded the group of the story told to them only moments prior.

"Hold on, isn't that Monokuma's execution for witches?" Shuichi looked to his new best friend to notice an unusually serious expression plastered there. He's right... it is the normal execution that Monokuma uses whenever a witch broke the law. I watched Kaede's twin sister get executed the day I met Kokichi. There's no way a trap like that could be set up so easily, easily without someone around to tie the ropes.

Shuichi approached the dwindling fire before them, a pile of new firewood now piled next to the circle of rocks. "He's hunting our souls, even while we're in hiding." Separating the flaming logs with Kirumi's help, Shuichi stomped out the remaining embers as his words lingered amongst the group like an airborne disease.

"So we aren't even safe at this home," Tsumugi stated, looking longingly at the cabin behind her. The forest was silent, giving the group time to think as they all struggled with the realisation that even their haven was dangerous to live. They had no choice, it was the only place they could go, and living nomadically was too dangerous for such a large, wanted group.