Travel Ban Semishira

Guards and Storms

Disclaimer: All the characters belong to Haruichi Furudate. None of the art belongs to me. Full credits go to the various artists. Author-chan out!

That first night was frankly quite scary. Backpacking with other people in an area you are familiar with is one thing, Kenjirou thought as darkness fell. Backpacking alone somewhere you have never been before is something else entirely.

He found a small clearing beside the trail and set his pack down with a sigh. His backpack seemed to get heavier with every step.

Shirabu chuckled. Well, it'll get lighter as I eat the food, so that'll help, he thought.

Leaves crackled nearby. Kenjirou's head shot up. What was that? More leaves crackled. The setter froze. He listened, but nothing but silence met his straining ears. He shook his head. You're not five years old, get a grip, he told himself.

Kenjirou dug around in his pack and came up with his sleeping bag. After a lot of thought, he had chosen not to buy a tent, since it was expensive and very heavy. It wasn't supposed to rain, but if it did, Shirabu was just going to have to deal with it. He spread out his sleeping bag and sprayed it with insect repellent. 

His stomach grumbled. Ugh, I shouldn't eat a lot, I need to conserve my food. He took out an apple and ate it all, leaving only the core, seeds and stem. He tossed it into the trees. He grinned to himself. If I ever come through here again and see an apple tree growing here, I'll know where it came from.

He zipped up his backpack and set it beside his sleeping bag. He looked around the Dark Forest anxiously. Hopefully there's no giant spiders out here.

Shirabu curled up in the sleeping bag. He had no pillow, so he rested his hands on his head. He squirmed, trying to get comfortable. No matter where he moved, there was always a stick or a rock poking into him. After a while, his eyes closed.

The setter woke with a start some time later. He looked around. It was almost pitch black. The only light came from the moon and stars. He frowned. What woke me up?

An owl screamed. Loudly. Shirabu sighed. Just an owl. Thank Asahi. The owl screamed again. Kenjirou turned over and tried to go back to sleep. The owl didn't stop screeching. Ugh.

Shirabu didn't get much sleep that night.

The next morning, he was stiff and sore. His feet hurt from all the hiking, and his back was sore from all the rocks he'd apparently slept on last night.

"Ugh," the second year muttered aloud. He realized he was talking to himself, but decided there was no harm in it. It wasn't like there was anyone else around to talk to anyway.

Kenjirou touched the packet of Granola bars. He paused. "I'm going to have to ration my food," he decided. "I can't eat snacks, and I'll keep an eye out for fruit along the trail. That's what the booklet is for, after all." 

Shirabu eyed the trail. "I can't follow the trail the whole time. I can't be the only person trying to get into a city by backpacking. The government's probably watching for people doing that, and I don't want to get arrested." Kenjirou shuddered. "It'll be okay to follow the trail for a few more days, but I'm going to have to leave it after that." He ate two Granola bars while he processed that.

"Yep. My dream vacation," the salty setter said sarcastically. He took a drink of water and packed up his supplies.

I better get started, he thought.

The next day was pretty similar, and the third one after that. On his fourth day on the trail, however, things changed.

That afternoon, Shirabu was hiking like normal when he heard voices. He froze. I haven't seen anyone else here! What if they're guards looking for people like me?