Despite having done his best to find Inigo after escaping the duel, Scarlett was a bigger setback than Makoto had anticipated. Over these years, all his training had been geared towards combat, so he was no tracker, and even with the aerial advantage, he couldn't exactly find Inigo even as he passed through the forest into the next town.

Said town seemed rather small and rural in nature. Being on the other side of the forest, it was surrounded by trees and covered with green grass. The houses here were rather small, many of them being two-storey cottages made from white stones or brown bricks. The whole place had a homely atmosphere to it, and he could smell the fresh, dewey scent of nature emanating off this town. There was a dirt path trailing down it, and at the end, he could see a sign, which on closer reading, said, "Welcome to Viren Village".

Initially having taken to the skies to search from a vantage point, Makoto hadn't been able to see Inigo anywhere in the town, so once he felt his wings beginning to give out, he decided to land on the ground so he could look more closely. Not wanting to disturb the peace of the village with his presence, he made sure to put his spear away. He now stood in front of the welcome sign, with this village in front of him, and his target somewhere - presumably indoors.

It was a nice day outside, being dry and breezy, so naturally, there were many people outside. He could see the dirty-faced children playing around, and he could hear their frolicking and joyous laughter. He could see responsible-looking adults watching over them and talking among themselves. Among the neatly-arranged cottages, he saw a few more buildings, like a couple of small eateries and an inn. He even saw a slightly larger, though no less domestic-looking house at one end, behind all the other buildings and closer to the trees at one border.

But he didn't see Inigo. And at that point, that was all that mattered. He finally got to cross paths with him after all this time. He couldn't just lose him!

So he had to initiate the second part of his hunt - the ground section. Doing his best to appear non-threatening, he stepped further into the village, looking around for that curly white hair and those corpselike blue eyes. He remained focused on his objective, but as he advanced, he heard a voice that seemed to be calling out to him.

"Ah, you must be new here! Welcome to Viren!"

It was a young adult male, who had been looking over the children. When Makoto turned to face him, he saw a man waving at him. He seemed to be about his age, maybe a little older, and his skin was a burnt ivory tan. His hair was shoulder-length, being a chocolate brown colour, and his eyes were a bright red. His build was muscular, which was exposed by his red shirt and yellow, fur-lined jacket, both sleeveless. Rounding it off was a pair of beige trousers and white shoes.

Awkwardly, he waved back, offering a slight smile. "Ah, uh, hey!" he said. "I haven't been here before, true..."

"Well, if you like nature, or the colour green, I promise you'll love it here!" he said, and Makoto smiled more sincerely as he noticed how friendly he was. "Stay as long as you like! Over there you'll find an inn, if you want to stay overnight!"

At that, he pointed towards the inn, a tall building, towering over the others by far. It was curiously cuboid-shaped and made of bricks the colour of terracotta, though its roof had slanted tiles instead, coloured like the grass beneath his feet. With a crude banner hanging above the door reading "Come On Inn", it certainly seemed like a friendly little place. Makoto looked at it for a little while before looking back, shaking his head.

"I...don't think I'll need that, but thanks for letting me know." he said politely. "I won't be here long - not that it's not a nice place - but I came here looking for someone!"

"Ah, well, I hope you find them!" the man smiled, crossing his arms. "Take care!"

"I will!" Makoto exclaimed, beginning to walk away. He hadn't bothered to ask about Inigo. He wasn't any of the stranger's business; this was between the two of them, and no one else. So he went on, keeping in mind Inigo's eyes as a way to determine who he was looking at.

He stepped forth, looking at all the people inhabiting the town, who mostly seemed to be minding their own business. Good, they wouldn't get in the way of the hunt. So he searched persistently, looking at every person, peering into every building, examining every nook and cranny, only to find no trace of Inigo. And then he did it again, just to be certain, and received no result.

After making sure he scoured the village completely, having searched a total of four times, the evening began to fall, and he noticed some of the villagers weren't quite so minding their own business anymore. Rather, they had begun to turn their attention to him, wondering who this strange outsider was and why he was searching through their town so persistently. He began to wonder if he should make himself scarce, lest he become the centre of local gossip.

As he stood by the side of a building, pondering on what to do, he took a deep breath to focus. At least he was able to do so in silence - as the sands of time passed, the sounds of children playing died down. Though at some point, he witnessed an argument between a teenager and an old man turning into a brawl, but that was neither here nor there. With a carton of soy milk purchased from one of the shops, he closed his eyes, sipping from his drink as he focused. Where could Inigo be? He didn't know him to any significant depth, so he couldn't exactly predict his whereabouts based on habit, and he hadn't seen him. He briefly suspected that the Inigo he'd seen earlier was some kind of phantasm, but Scarlett had seen him, too - she even talked to him.

While lost in thought, he was approached by the blond man from earlier, who tapped his back with a slightly concerned look. Snapping out of it, he looked back at him and smiled slightly, giving another awkward wave. "O-Oh, uh, hey!"

"Hey, uh...buddy?" the man questioned, looking down at the eighteen-year old - which wasn't hard. This man was pretty damn tall, and Makoto...wasn't. "Are you sure you're looking for a person here?"

"...yeah? Why would I not be?" Makoto asked, seemingly confused. "I suppose 'person' might be considered a generous term, but..."

"The way you've been poking around this place, it's like you're sniffing out bombs or something!" the man exclaimed. "People are beginning to talk, you know?"

"O-Oh, are they?" Makoto stammered a little, averting eye contact out of a sudden shyness. "...I'm...sorry."

"No need to apologise." the red-eyed man sighed. "It's clear you need help finding whoever you're looking for."

"No, I don't." Makoto frowned slightly. "This is between me and him. I'll be fine searching on my own."

"Mhm." the man nodded skeptically, his muscled arms crossed. "And how's that been working out for you?"

Makoto's frown grew at that, and the man narrowed his eyes. "At this rate, I'd be surprised if this guy you're looking for hasn't already left." he commented. "Can you at least tell me what he looks like?"

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"Well, he's not very easy to miss." Makoto said, seemingly not noticing the irony in that statement. "He's got white hair, blue eyes, and I'm pretty sure he's from Mortain."

"Ah, then you're in luck." the man smiled slightly. "He came here not too long before you did! He's been going around interrogating everyone. If you'd done the same, you might've seen him. I think I last saw him heading to the inn, though."

"Oh, uh, is that so?" Makoto smiled back. "Then I'll have to-"

Then, he stopped himself, clearing his throat. It wouldn't be very honourable to barge into his room in his sleep. Not to mention, he didn't know which room he was staying at, and finding out was bound to cause a lot of ruckus. He sighed at that, before clearing his throat. "...wait for him to come out, I guess..." he murmured halfheartedly.

"Seems like it." the man shrugged. "In the meantime, though, why don't you stay and enjoy yourself? Must be stressed after all that searching."

"I'll be fine. I don't need to-"

"Buddy, if you don't take the time to de-stress every now and then, you're gonna go mad, you know?" the man raised an eyebrow. "You've been searching non-stop for hours on end, what are you gonna do now? Just have a short rest, and thank me later."

"...fine." Makoto pouted slightly, looking up and taking another sip of his milk. "Guess I'll...go get something at the restaurant."

"Ooh, heading to the Green Leaf Cafe, are you?" the man grinned at him. "They've got some good stuff. I recommend their milkshakes."

"I'm...lactose-intolerant."

"Yikes. Poor you." the man gave a sympathetic shudder. "Well, they have plenty of options for you, anyway. Pick whatever tickles your fancy."

"Alright...then, thanks...uh...I don't know your name." Makoto murmured, clearing his throat as the man chuckled quietly.

"Ah, silly me! I never told you!" he laughed a little, before shaking his head and looking down at him, holding out his hand. "My name's Silas."

"Oh! Well, nice to meet you, Silas." Makoto replied, looking at his hand for a few seconds before remembering he was meant to shake it and doing so. "My name is Makoto Kozuki."

"Well, Makoto, I hope you enjoy this little village of ours. It's nothing flashy, but it's home." Silas replied, shaking his hand, and Makoto couldn't help but notice how firm and strong his hand was. Letting go, he began to walk away from him, smiling. "Take care! And I hope you find him!"

Makoto nodded, seeing him off with one final wave, just as awkward as the last. Watching Silas leave him, he smiled a little, deciding he had the rest of the evening ahead of him, so he might as well rest. So he walked away, heading to the cafe to find something nice to eat.

.........

"So, the day has come...I knew you'd be sent after me eventually."

"Allowing you to live can prove dangerous. Thus, I have been ordered not to."

"There's no way I could take you on in a duel. That much is clear to me. And yet, I cannot help but challenge you, regardless."

These voices were different from the one Inigo had been hearing - far from the posh magician who gave him his lectures, there were two voices, conversing. One of a solemn warrior, calm yet resigned to his fate, and the other belonging to...him? But it was rather far-removed from his usual stoicism. This Inigo seemed borderline emotionless in his words and intonations.

Hearing these foreign voices repeating themselves over and over in his head was enough for Inigo to wake up, abandoning the idea of having a nap. He sat up in his bed and looked around his room. It was, to say the least, a pretty tidy place. Not too flashy, with wooden planks for a floor, tightly arranged in rows. The walls were celadon in colour. The floors themselves were a humble white colour, with bedding to match. Plain, but homely, just like this green little village.

Feeling a strange throbbing in his head, he wondered if that little nightmare was an omen of sorts, but decided not to dwell too deeply on that angle. If he was in this scene, however, this could end up being important for him. So, regardless, he kept it in mind as he got out of bed. He changed out of his nightgown and into the clothes he'd been wearing - having realised early on that wearing his scarf to sleep was not very comfortable - before walking out of the room and heading towards the exit. He'd booked a room on the first floor, so he didn't have very far to go.

From there, he left the inn, and once he was outside, he gazed into the night sky. It was dark, dotted with beautiful stars and a faint trace of fading, distant clouds. He was no stargazer, true, but seeing the stars in the night was refreshing, so he couldn't help but stare anyway.

As he took a breath of fresh air, he eventually managed to bring himself to tear his eyes away from the sky and look upon the village ahead of him, quiet and bathed in shadow. No wonder there were people who revered the darkness, what with the peace and calm it brought.

But enough of that. Whenever he was feeling uneasy or mentally worn-out, Inigo always found a walk at night was the perfect remedy. He sighed and smiled to himself - briefly, before returning to his neutral expression. From there, he walked away, leaving the inn behind him for now and eyeing the trees behind the village. His previous forest walk had been interrupted, so why not go for Part 2?

That was the plan, anyway. Before it could be realised, he couldn't help but notice Makoto, leaning against the wall of a nearby cafe with a cellular networking device in his hand. Recognising him immediately, he mentally applauded him for not getting kidnapped by Libera. Still, he didn't have anything to do with him at the moment, so he figured he'd just let him be. As such, he continued walking, humming a quiet tune to himself.

On Makoto's phone screen had been a messaging contact of someone he simply called "Doctor", as well as a bevy of ignored text notifications at the top. As he heard a humming tune, however, he looked up and at once he saw Inigo. Eyes widening, he reminded himself that he wanted to keep the village's peace for now and restrained himself from summoning his spear. But he'd found his target! He almost couldn't believe this. Now, the best thing to do was follow him - keep all eyes on him, and he'd have what he wanted in no time.

So he watched him closely, making sure he remained out of his path, and followed him as he slowly made his way back into the forest. Makoto didn't know what his business there was, but then again, it didn't matter to him. As long as he was far enough from the village that whatever confrontation they would have wouldn't cause too big of a disturbance.

Eventually, it was just the two of them, both in the forest surrounded by darkness. The perfect cover for a stealth level, with no sounds except for Inigo's whistling, the crickets chirping, and the sounds of footsteps hitting the earth. Wait, footsteps?

Just as Makoto began to get a bad feeling about that, he looked around at his surroundings. The clearing didn't seem like it would come into view until a little while longer, so for now, they were among the trees. There were a few dead leaves on the ground, but it had overall been rather clear of those. Slimes could be heard, but not seen - perhaps they were seeking shelter for the night. And as Makoto began to take these sounds in, Inigo began to speak.

"It's nice out here, isn't it? The stars twinkling, moon waning...the wind running cold, without a drop of rain." he said, sighing wistfully as he continued to walk, his hands in his pockets. "On nights like these, I just can't resist coming out for a little stroll and just allowing all my worries to fade into the darkness."

Keeping his hands in his pockets, he then turned around, his dull eyes meeting Makoto's bright orange ones as he gave him a calm, collected and deeply curious gaze. Looking directly at him, barely fazed at his presence, he added, "Wouldn't you agree?"

Despite the noise, an unnatural silence permeated in the air between the two of them. A silence that Makoto was the first to break, taking a deep breath and staring down his fated enemy. "...you noticed me the whole time, didn't you?"

"You didn't make it difficult." Inigo commented, and at once, Makoto thought back to the footsteps and sighed, listening to Inigo talk. "You've been following me since before I got into that forest, haven't you?"

"I have."

"Good, you're cooperating." Inigo nodded, not privy to the tense feeling of Makoto's heart pounding in his chest, blood rushing through his veins like an electric current. "I'm not going to hurt you, so tell me what this is all about."

Makoto closed his eyes briefly, taking a deep breath as he held his hand to his heart, stepping forward slightly before re-opening his eyes. "I'll get to the point, then." he said, looking straight at Inigo and summoning his spear, pointing it towards him with an unmistakable glare as the latter simply stared at him, not visibly shaken by the threat. "Are you Inigo Lenahan?"

As those words left his mouth and reached Inigo's ears, the latter's calmness instantly faded, and he stared at Makoto, trying to work out just what his business was with him. Did he know him? And...'Lenahan'. Was that his surname? Repeating it in his head, it sounded right to him.

So, he faced Makoto fully, his gloved hands out of his pockets, and looked at him with clear intrigue in his eyes, ready to see where this would go next. For he felt like the next chapter of his identity quest was finally about to start.

"...I am."