<<Beginning of Wandering Arc>>
***
The sun beat down directly overhead sprawling plains. A covered wagon traveled along the single dirt path that cut through the fields of grass, wide enough for two wagons to simultaneously pass each other.
Covering herself with a cloak underneath the blazing sun, a lone woman reined the horse at the front of the cart, completely devoid of passengers.
She grumbled under her breath, "Damn that Yukito... making me come all the way out here"
Having been awoken at midnight due to some 'disruptance', Seika was under orders to travel out to the small town of Synoria Outlook located next to the Western border. Naturally, being woken up at midnight had already put her in a bad mood, and the vagueness of her instructions did nothing to help her situation.
Normally, the direct route to Synoria Outlook from Synoria would only take a few hours, but the route she had specifically been told to take took much longer as it traced along the woods that marked Orientalis' border.
"This damned trip had better be worth it", she muttered.
***
By the time Kaito had awakened, the sun was nearly directly overhead. His mind felt as if he had just had the most restful sleep of his life, yet his body felt as if he'd just ran the longest marathon known to man. He lay with his back to the floor, staring straight up through the canopy of leaves at the sky.
Then, he noticed, "Wait a minute... why are there trees here? I could've sworn I saw nothing beyond the barrier-"
His curiosity got the best of him as he jolted up and looked behind him at where he came from.
There it was, the same barren landscape behind where the barrier once was, the same location where he finished his fight with Seraphim that seemed to encircle the forests around Hanakawa.
"Must've been some kind of illusion projected on the barrier...", he realized.
It was clear that whoever created the barrier truly didn't want the residents of Hanakawa to leave, so much that they'd create a seemingly empty world outside to disincentivize any wanderers.
Kaito lay back down on the grass, not wanting to get up, until the sound of his stomach rumbling shook him to his senses.
"Right, I normally would've eaten by now... not to mention the toll that form takes on my body"
Relucantly, Kaito stood up and began walking deeper into the woods, glancing back at Hanakawa's direction one final time. He walked on a gradual downhill descent for about 10 minutes until the ground became level and the scenery began to change.
In the distance, the sea of trees seemed to come to an abrupt halt, after which only rolling hills covered in grass could be seen.
"Finally, I'm almost out of here"
His pace accelerated slightly until he made it past the final row of trees.
A small distance ahead of him lay a dirt path that seemed to travel alongside the forest for as far as the eye could see. To his left, the path continued on in the same fashion, but to his right, a covered wagon could be seen steadily approaching.
"Yes! There's people out here! I hope they're friendly though-", he thought as he crossed his fingers.
The wagon slowed to a halt where Kaito stood next to the path.
"Need a ride?", the cloaked figure asked as they raised their head so they could get a full view of Kaito from under their hood.
Kaito was briefly taken aback by how straightforward this person was. No introductions or questions or anything of the like.
"Uh- sure. Thank you-", he quickly replied.
He hopped into the back of the cart and the pace quickly resumed.
"So, where you coming from? I'm surprised there's even anyone this far out in the middle of nowhere"
"I'm from Hanakawa"
"What."
Seika had never heard such a name before.
"Sooo... where is that exactly?"
"Beyond the trees in that direction", Kaito answered as he gestured towards the forest he emerged from.
Seika turned around to see where Kaito was pointing at.
"Huh?! But over there is-"
She was interrupted by the sound of Kaito's stomach growling. The two of them remained silent for a moment, then Seika burst out laughing.
"Let's get that taken care of first, we can talk about our origins after"
Deftly controlling the reins, Seika pulled the wagon over off the path and onto the grass beside it. In another swift motion she swung her legs over the seat and hopped into the back where Kaito sat. Now under the cart's cover, she removed her cloak, her bright red-orange hair to falling down to her waist.
She sported a black tank top and white shorts over a fairly muscular body, alongside black ankle boots and a pair of gloves. However, most notably about her appearance was her left eye, whose pupil bore the shape of a cross like a sort of target scope.
Based on her appearance and movements alone, Kaito surmised that she most likely had years of experience in combat. He also concluded that she must have had at least some proficiency in archery based on the gloves she wore despite the rarity of seeing archers in Hanakawa due to the average arrow being unable to pierce a corrupted's body.
"Now, let's see what we can find here"
Seika rummaged through multiple boxes, clearly having not been the one to pack the supplies as she seemed surprised at everything she pulled out, before eventually producing a package of crackers.
"What the- Is this really all he gave me..?"
Ignoring her confusion, she handed the pack to Kaito.
"Eat up, they're supposedly nutritious"
"No, really, it's fine. If this is all you have, I'd rather you have it", Kaito declined.
Seika took the crackers back from Kaito, then split the portion in half.
"There, you're obviously starving and we've still got a while before we reach the next town"
She handed one half to Kaito, which he now accepted graciously.
"By the way, the name's Seika. Nice to meet'cha", she said through a mouthful of crackers.
It was clear she was hungry as well.
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