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Shin often spent time playing in the forest. He had his usual spots and he always could find his way back home. Today, however, he had gotten lost. He couldn't remember why or how he ended up here. Wherever 'here' was.
The trees were so tall and thick that they made it impossible to see the sun. Shin wasn't scared of the dark. Usually. But being in a dark, creepy part of the forest was a different kind of dark than being in his bed at night, with Mr. Halibut by his side. His mother had made the stuffed animal for him after a visit to the aquarium, where Shin had expressed great disappointment at the gift shop lacking any halibut plushies, but plenty of sharks.
Shin missed Mr. Halibut. He missed his mom. And his books. And his house. He didn't want to be in the forest anymore. Overwhelmed by the situation, Shin couldn't hold in his tears anymore. He slumped down against a tree and started sobbing.
"Why are you crying?"
"B-because I'm scared..."
"Why are you scared?"
"Because I'm alone and I'm lost!"
"But you're not alone, silly! I'm here!"
"Huh?"
Realizing he had been taking to someone, Shin lifted up his head to see a boy with spiky blond hair standing in front of him. The boy looked normal, but something about his bright green eyes seemed...weird. It was also weird that there was a boy here at all, but Shin didn't really think about that.
"I'm Keigo Kazama, who are you?"
The boy, now having introduced himself as Keigo, seemed way too happy to be in the scary forest, though it was slightly comforting, and Shin felt a little less afraid.
"Shin Oikawa."
"Nice to meet you, Shin Oikawa." Keigo said with a beaming smile and held out his hand.
Shin stared at him for a moment; still trying to process what was going on, but then took the other boy's hand. Keigo pulled him back up to his feet with seemingly no effort.
"How old are you, Shin Oikawa?" Keigo asked.
"Ten. Tomorrow is my birthday. I'll be eleven, then."
"Oh, happy birthday, Shin Oikawa!"
Shin frowned. "I said tomorrow is my birthday! And you can just call me Shin. It's weird when you keep saying my full name like that."
When Shin said that, Keigo looked...confused, like he really had no idea it sounded weird to repeatedly use someone's full name. The confusion was quickly replaced with a new smile.
"Okay! I will call you Shin."
Shin couldn't help but laugh a little. "So how old are you, Keigo?"
"It's a secret." Keigo replied with a wink.
"Why?"
"Because."
"Because what?"
"That's also a secret."
Shin pouted. Keigo stuck out his tongue. Then they both laughed.
It wasn't until they reached the edge of the forest that Shin realized Keigo had still been holding his hand. He opened his mouth to say something, but Keigo was first.
"You are no longer lost now, so you can let go of my hand."
Still a bit surprised, Shin let go of Keigo's hand. He also hadn't realized they had been walking, nor for how long. The sun was just starting to set, so he had been outside for almost the whole day. His mom was probably worried.
Wouldn't Keigo's mom be worried, too?
Shin turned to him to ask, but the other boy was gone. He looked around for any sign of him, but Keigo was nowhere to be seen.
Maybe it was his imagination, but Shin thought he saw what looked like a white fox disappear into the forest.