La Vie En Rose ~An IZ*ONE vampire story~

The search begins

Having decided their next course of action, Sakura and the others split into their respective groups to search for Mion and Nana.

Since Chaeyeon didn't have class until later in the afternoon, she met up with Minju and the two of them went to the building where Yui had tracked down Nana's aura.

"An art museum?" Minju said, seeing the building.

"Yup! This is the place."

The two of them noticed an influx of high school students were present around the museum. It was no wonder, the museum was pretty famous and had been around for more than 50 years.

Minju rubbed her chin as she scanned the crowd of people entering the building.

"It might be difficult for us to find Miss Nana with all of these people around."

"Well, let's just go inside, and we can scope out the area. Then we can come up with ideas on how to find her later."

"Alright, that sounds like a good idea. Let's go."

As they headed towards the entrance, inside the main lobby of the museum, Yena and Yuri stood in awe of the interior design.

"Woah..." Yena looked up at the large ceiling above their heads, and how the skylight was made up of stained glass. "So pretty~"

She was about to take a photo with her cell phone, when Yuri grabbed her wrist, lowering her hand.

"Yena, we aren't allowed to have our phones out, remember?" she whispered.

"Yeah, I know..." Yena pouted as she put her phone away.

As they started walking ahead, Yuri felt a chill go down her spine. She glanced over her shoulder.

"Why do I feel like... someone's following me?"

"Yuri~ Let's go!" Yena tugged at her wrist, pulling her forward.

"Ah! Sorry..."

Yena could tell Yuri seemed a bit tense, but over what she wasn't sure. Maybe because the museum was so crowded today, she was nervous, she thought.

She gently squeezed her hand, surprising Yuri.

"Here. So we don't get lost," she said with her usual bright smile.

"Y-yeah..." Yuri blushed.

...

Meanwhile...

Sakura went with Yui and Nako into the woods, Yui holding out a compass as they walked forward. They were currently in a deep section of the woods that was cut off from human society, a hidden sanctuary for Nightlings and other mythical beings like fairies.

For Nako, in particular, it was a new experience for her, as she got to see strange glowing plants she'd never seen before and noticed tiny pixies flying around, speaking in a language she couldn't understand.

"Mion-chan's aura is dull, but I can definitely feel it coming from this direction," Yui said.

"How could her soul have wandered off so deep into this part of the forest?" Nako asked.

"After the fight against the Church, it's likely her soul searched for a place of refuge to heal. Her soul must've came here since she knew the humans would never find this place."

"I just hope she's okay..."

Sakura was quiet as she kept walking. She was thinking about Mion and, like Nako, hoping that she was okay and that they would find her.