“Your Initiative..?” Mako asked. “But, that’s impossible.”

“Yeah! You were born over one thousand years apart! How could you two have possibly met?!”

“It was one thousand years ago. When I swore my life to stay by your side.”

“What does that even mean? I don’t understand!” Mako pulled her hand away. “I’ve never met you before now!”

“We have.”

“What..?”

“We have met before. You just don’t remember.”

“Mou, this doesn’t make sense!” Mako shouted frustrated, storming off.

“Wait! Mako-chan!” Natsuki called out to her, but the girl disappeared into the fog that started to cloud the night of the forest.

“Oh crap… Oh crap!” Yuka suddenly shouted. “We need to go after her!”

“But, Yuka, it’s dangerous out there!”

“EXACTLY! Mako could get killed!”

Everyone was silent, not knowing what to do. Yuka looked at Nana, who was giving her a serious gaze. Even though she had blood on , she was able to read the vampire’s feelings in her eyes.

“You’ll come with me, right?”

“Of course.”

“Anyone else?” Yuka asked, but no one answered. The girl let out an angry growl, “Fine! Stay here if you’re that scared, then, dammit!”

“Yuka..!”

“Nana, let’s go!”

The two vampires ran off. Natsuki wanted to go after them, but stopped herself as there were more pressing matters at hand.

“Natsuki-san… will they be okay?” Nao asked.

“...I don’t know.”

-----------------------

Nana and Yuka ran through the fog, calling out their friend’s name in an attempt to find her. The two had no luck finding her, and soon, Yuka found that she had gotten them lost.

“Argh, now what do we do? How’re we gonna find our way back?!”

Nana held her shoulder, placing a finger at her lips as a sign to be quiet.

“Huh..?”

“Be quiet. Something’s here,” Nana said in a whisper.

As Yuka’s voice died down, she began to hear a low grumble. A beast’s growl. Her body froze as she felt her heart race in fear. Nana remained calm, her expression stoic.

The two then saw a pair of red, beastly eyes staring at them. The growl started to grow as the predator approached the two. Yuka felt her legs trembling as she and the other vampire girl slowly started to back away.

“W-w-we have to run…” she hissed, too scared to even speak.

Just then, there was a loud snap as someone stepped on a wooden twig. The two looked down, seeing the broken stick at the bottom of Nana’s foot.

The beast suddenly charged forward. Yuka screamed as it was about to attack.

BANG!

Then, there was a loud gunshot. Yuka and Nana fell to the ground as they saw someone dash forward, holding a gun. They shot the beast again, hitting at the center of its head. Slowly, the black beast collapsed, dead on the ground.

The person blew the barrel of the gun, strapping it onto their waist before turning to look at the two.

“Are you alright?”

“Y-yes…” Yuka responded while Nana nodded silently.

The woman smiled and helped the two back on their feet.

“What are you two doing out here?”

“W-we’re looking for our friend. She ran off and now, we’re lost.”

“You need some help?”

“Eh?! No, no, you don’t have to--”

“We’d appreciate it,” Nana said kindly, making the younger girl’s eyes widen.

“Alright. Let’s start then,” she said as she started walking.

“W-wait!” Yuka stopped her. “What’s your name?”

“Rena.”

-----------------------

Madoka and Marika were sleeping, but their slumber was interrupted when they heard a scratching noise.

“M-Madoka-chan, what’s that noise?”

“Probably just an animal.”

Marika tried to go back to sleep, telling herself it was just an animal. However, it was then that she heard what sounded like a roar in the distance.

“W-what was that?!”

Madoka groaned, trying to sleep, “Like I said, it’s just an animal. Like a bear or something.”

“That didn’t SOUND like a bear!”

“Marika, just be quiet.”

Marika frowned, shivering in her sleeping bag as she looked around nervously. Staring at the wall of the tent, she could see the shadow of whatever was outside slowly walk past the tent.

The shadow looked so unnatural. So monstrous. Marika held in a scream as she watched the shadow disappear, hearing the rustling footsteps fade away.

“That’s it!” she finally said, bolting up from her bed. “This was a bad choice! I give up!”

“Eh?” Madoka turned her head, seeing the girl stuff her backpack.

“Come on, Madoka, you were right! We’re getting out of here!”

“What?!”

“Hurry up and pack your things,” she said, throwing the girl’s bag to her.

Madoka let out a loud sigh. “This girl is hopeless…”

Nonetheless, she soon packed up her things and took down the tent. Marika started looking around, leaving Madoka confused.

“What’s wrong?”

“Um… I don’t know where to go.”

“Eh?! Are you saying we’re lost?!” Madoka grabbed the girl’s shoulders.

“I-I…”

“Hold on,” Madoka pulled out her phone, trying to search for a signal.

As she was doing so, Marika noticed a path she didn’t see before. She raised a brow before walking towards it. She saw a straight path that seemed to lead somewhere, but she didn’t know where.

“Hey, Madoka-chan?”

“Not now, Marika!”

Marika just pouted before looking back at the path.

“Might as well try…” she thought as she started walking.

She didn’t recognize the path at all, but she felt like she was getting closer to something.

She started to see something in the distance. She started running closer, seeing what looked like a clock tower.

“Is that the school?!” She ran faster, bolting out of the forest before stopping to see the building in front of her.

An old clock tower. Vines covering the walls of the building.

“This isn’t Magnolia Academy…” she realized. “This is… this is..!”

But then, she blinked.

“What school is this?”

The entire school building looked like it had been standing there for ages, untouched and untended by anyone. It was an abandoned ruin of the past.

“I gotta tell Madoka-chan about this..!” she said, turning around, but was surprised to see the path she had came from had disappeared. “Huh? Huh?! Where’d it go?!”

She got out her phone and tried to call her, but that failed. It was like she was in an area cut off from the rest of the world.

“No way… What am I supposed to do?”

She turned back to the entrance of the building, seeing a sign covered by vines. A sign which told the name of the school.

“Tsubaki High School…?”