Carpe Noctem - a cafe by day, a bar by night - and one of the busiest businesses there was. It was either young men and women who were trying to get some peace and quiet, or to get some caffeine to get through the day after an all-nighter. It was usually quiet and calm. Most of the patrons who get there during the day just wanted to get by. Struggling every now and then, even, and just wanting the day to end. Of course, the workers there were kind to them and would encourage them to get by the day - and of course, look forward to the more exciting part of the entire day. The Night.

During the night, Carpe Noctem turns an entire one hundred eighty degrees. From the peaceful cafe to the rowdy bar, some people would be confused when you mention Carpe Noctem. Regular patrons wouldn't bat an eye. You want to go for a drink? Carpe Noctem. You want to get some coffee? Carpe Noctem. That was just how it was for them. Most people, though, are easily confused - but the business rarely suffered because of this. During the night, you could rent rooms for personal parties which involved alcoholic beverages. Or you could just hang around in the public area for just getting some drinks on.

The turn-over point was 5:30 PM. They close for thirty minutes when it's 5:00 PM, making the switch between the lighting, staff and the ambience in general.

Hiroko worked for the day shift right now, so she was preparing to get out of the store. Hanging up her uniform, she changed into her normal clothing. Saying goodbye to her co-workers, she stuck a cigarette into her mouth as she prepared to leave the establishment. Just as she lit up her cigarette and walked through the door, she felt something. She had no idea what it was, but it was something. And for a second there, her vision blacked out and she fell forward.

Putting her arms forward, she managed to avoid her face scraping on the ground. Gritting her teeth, she felt the cigarette in her mouth. "What the hell was that?" She questioned to herself as she sat up and shook her head. She brought up her hand to take the cigarette and then sighed. That was when she noticed that she was looking at grass.

There was no grass at the back of the store. She looked around. And she was pretty damn sure her store wasn't in the middle of the forest. Hiroko looked back to see that the store itself has disappeared entirely. She let out another sigh as she stood up. Okay, she must have passed out a lot longer than she thought. Maybe someone threw her out here. But Hiroko couldn't think of anyone who would do such a thing, or why. She rubbed the back of her head before taking a drag of her cigarette. You know what, she couldn't even think of an explanation.

Or maybe she was thrown to another reality!

"I'm too tired for this shit." She stood up and then stretched her limbs. She still had her backpack, her coat, her lighter and her box of cigarettes - the latter two found inside her coat. Okay, she didn't lose any of her stuff from when she got out of the store. Hiroko wondered if there was anyone else around because she'd like a goddamned explanation right now.

Nishikawa Kaito hummed loudly as he walked down the street. In his hands, a large fishing rod and a tackle box filled with bait, lures, and everything else the aspiring fisherman could ask for. On his back, a backpack stuffed to the brim with every volume of the manga handed down by the gods themselves, Angel Densetsu, as well as a bento for his dinner. And on his face, a wide, moronically carefree grin.

He was going evening fishing, a hobby he'd only picked up a couple of months ago, but had taken him over faster than he'd thought physically possible. It was exciting when something was actually happening, he could read his manga when it wasn't, and it let him spend time with just his own thoughts and the sounds of the ocean! Not to mention the fish he caught were usually pretty delicious!

Yep, Kaito doubted that anything could bring his mood down today!

That was, of course, until a small gust of wind made him blink, and his eyes opened to reveal a grassy hill. A split second later, he realised he'd failed to adjust his footing for the new empty space in front of him, so instead of walking down the hill normally, he landed directly on his face and slid.

He remained face down in the grass for a few moments after reaching the bottom, before blearily lifting his head and looking around. Thankfully, his fishing rod and tackle box were still with him, although he wasn't looking forward to sorting through all the stuff inside when he opened it again.

However, that wasn't the main thing that caught his attention. Instead, his eyes were drawn to the dark haired girl just a few metres away, smoking a cigarette and looking pissed.

"Um… Hello…" Kaito said, nervous at the prospect of speaking to this total stranger. "I'm guessing from your expression that this is probably a dumb question, but do you have any idea what just happened?"

Kicking back inside one of the rooms on the far side of a particular manga cafe was Izuna Sakuya. Her legs raised on the desk just on either side of the flat screen monitor and keyboard in front of her. A sad sigh came from the blonde girl as she continued looking through the guides on farming that one place for a particular item.

"Ugh, these guides are such a pain. They don't explain anything." Giving up after who-knows-how-many videos she watched relating to her problem, Izuna slumped back into the comfortable chair and played with the adjustment lever just below it while at the same time looking for songs to make her feel relaxed. What was she doing here at five in the afternoon? Well, she told her parents that she was out making up group assignments. Obviously, she lied. She wasn't going back to working in a hole where she can't even get paid by her own parents. "For the business" is what was always told to her every time she does so. Judging from how she put her legs up, she's been in the room for quite a while.

...

A few minutes passed, she was able to make a playlist on the unit she used and saved it. Bobbing her head to the rhythm of each song that she finds was true music to her ears. Continuing to scroll through the feed of news on every tab that she opened up until she found a topic that circulated on the top articles.

"There's a ray of hope for you to believe in. Never lose sight of it and you'll be successful?" She asked aloud, reading its summarized contests before responding with a snort that no one could probably here. "What a load of garbage." She replies, crossing her arms and hitting the reclining lever of the chair just so she could get the feel of that comfortable air conditioning. "As if believing in something will get you anywhere. When will these people learn that you have to work for this kind of stuff. It isn't gonna get handed to you on a silver tray just because you believe you can do it without effort." With a yawn, Izuna rubbed her eyes, she was feeling a little sleepy all of a sudden. What with the song now playing and the ambience of a cramped up yet comfortable room getting to her. She thought it'd be nice to close her eyes just a bit...

...just a tiny bit.

And then suddenly, as the song ends, she could feel herself land on a patch of grassland, she was no longer in her chair or wearing the headset. She was outside, that's for sure. No more artificially-made air. Izuna sat up in shock and looked around, noting two people just on either side of her. Looking left and right she gave them both a wave. "You two lost, also or something? Or did you two drag me out of the manga cafe because I was sleeping in?"

"Khh..! So close!" Toshinari said through clenched teeth.

It was an ordinary day, and for Toshinari, ordinary days often meant staying at home and playing video games in the sanctuary that was his own room. Of course, even if it felt like one, Toshinari's room hardly resembled a sanctuary of any kind: clothes he had worn days prior hung lazily on his desk chair and bed, game cases were haphazardly strewn across the wooden floor, and Toshinari had planted himself right in the centre of the chaos that was his room, gripping a controller with an expression of pure focus plastered upon his face.

The blonde haired boy had recently become enamored with a game called Light Spirits, an infamously famous game both praised and reviled for its difficulty. Toshinari had heard good things about the game from his decidedly small friend group, and opted to take the plunge and give it a try. In spite of the difficulty of the game, Toshinari had—up until this point and one before—taken to the game like a duck to water; it embraced and encouraged his cautious decision-making while simultaneously rewarding his patience. Hell, the game even let him run a warrior class like he always did when playing RPGs. He was already several hours into his first session, slaying creature after creature with slightly-less-than-reckless abandon—and he had even managed to clear a couple of bosses already, too.

Of course, the universe didn't want him to see too much success in the game, and as Toshinari had finished killing a particularly tough enemy, the dreaded string of words appeared at the bottom of the screen.

Shadow spirit xXDark_SlayerXx has intruded!

"Shit...! It's him again!" Toshinari began to sweat bullets. It was his reckoning.

In no time at all, the half-naked, shadow-clad enemy player descended upon the greenhorn Toshinari for a second time, arms raised in a taunting manner as Toshinari's corpse faded to dust.

"Damn it! I was carrying so many spirits!"

The blonde-haired boy set his controller aside and buried his head in his arms to contemplate his ruinous demise.

"That was the same taunt as last time, too..."

His sad ruminations went on for a grand total of five minutes, before he decided it was time to pick himself up and do something else. He pressed his hands to the ground to lift himself up, but where he should have felt hard wooden flooring, he instead felt the subtle give and coarse texture of...

...Grass?

Toshinari lifted his head, and his gaze wasn't met by a TV screen, nor did he see his console—or even his room. Instead, the boy was face to face with a large rock comfortably nestled in the ground. He jumped to his feet and scanned his surroundings in surprise and confusion.

"Eh? This isn't my house." An astute observation, if he said so himself. Had he been ruminating for longer than he thought? No, that still wouldn't explain how he got outside—in the middle of nowhere, no less. His contemplation was cut short by the sounds of voices on the other side of the rock. Toshinari peered from behind it, spotting several strangers only a few feet away.

Did they have something to do with this? He had to find out.

"Hey, who are you people?"

It seemed that in the jarring moment of blinking into another area didn't make her as hyperaware as she would have liked. After blowing smoke into the air for the second time to keep her calm, she had heard a voice from somewhere near. Her melted into one of calmness, seemingly pleased with the prospect of having someone to bear this with. Because quite obviously, he didn't know what was happening either. Upon inspection, however, she found herself quite shocked. He was younger than her, that was for sure, and was just as nervous as in his form as he is with his voice. She was just about to speak in response to him - to confirm his suspicions that she had no idea where they were or what had happened when another one had decided to speak.

Or rather, she had appeared in between them and for some reason she had not noticed. How unfortunate. Maybe she was still in a daze. Yes, now that would be a good excuse. There was not much to say about the girl - except for her unique silver hair and rather cute appearance. She was not nearly as nervous as the young male from earlier as she regarded them. "Afraid we're just as lost as you." She replied with a shrug before looking back down at her hand - frowning at the cigarette. Or perhaps frowning at the moment she knew she had to put it out. Letting it fall to the ground, she stomped it to stop the fire before it could possibly infect the grass surrounding it. She had made sure it was out before removing her foot there. She would not be so foolish as to just start smoking in front of kids just because she can.

Another one peeked his head out from the boulder that separeted him and them - questioning who they were with the utmost suspicion. Understandable, but completely unneeded. Maybe it was the presence of others here that made her feel more at ease - more in her element. At least something was familiar in such an odd place. "Quite rude to ask for names when you haven't given yours yet." She reasoned. She then shook her head. It wasn't a time for jokes nor pleasantries. It was more than obvious that every single one of them had no idea what was happening and that no one here was responsible for taking the rest. That, or she was getting horribly rusty. She waved her hand as an indication to disregard her earlier statement. "Ikazuchi Hiroko." She greeted. "Would've been better to meet in other circumstances, but this is what we got."

"Izuna... Sakuya." Was all she answered after standing up to pat the dust off the jacket and skirt of her "uniform". Not like it means anything outside of a place that's alien to her. She notes the new arrival and begins the head count with him before pointing to herself lastly. "There's four of us here, unless there's more people showing up." There's nothing else noteworthy about their location in the forest, at least now, anyway. The grass is greener than usual and it smells of Mother Nature's air but that isn't the odd thing about this bunch. Izuna doesn't know these people much less seen them from her recorded memory. She is well-aware that this was more than just simple coincidence.

"Anyone know a way out? Because I don't have any survivalist camper experience." Right. That's a good way to break the ice at the very least.

"Nishikawa Kaito, but you guys can just call me Kai!" Kaito said, looking between the first girl and the other two who had appeared. "And yeah, nah, I'm not sure where we are either."

He looked to the girl who'd asked if anyone knew how to get back to where they were, and he shook his head nervously.

"Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you literally appeared out of thin air just then, so the odds of an easy way home aren't looking great..."

Of course, his thoughts on the situation weren't completely negative. After all, he was a proud otaku, and if his theory was correct, he might be able to put that knowledge to use! Plus, if they found a river or stream, he might be able to fish.

"Well, I don't know if any of us are particularly good cooks, but if we can't make it back to Japan soon, we could always always look for a river or something, and I can try to catch a fish or two! I mean, we might be stuck here for a while, so maybe we should try and prepare with that in mind."

While Izuna agreed with the idea of finding fresh water and somewhere to fish for food, it isn't exactly a bright idea seeing as they didn't bring any tents with them (or rather, who would even bring a tent in the city is the question). The silver-haired young lady sighed, looking to the toril in the distance and pointed at it with her index finger stretched out.

This had been beside them the entire time and they were too focused on asking each other questions instead of looking around thoroughly for anything that might lead back home. This old, broken path and the traditional red arch in the distance... to her it could only mean one thing. "Why don't we just walk through this path? Surely there's a temple somewhere or something and when there's a temple there's bound to be an overlook someplace with the city below us." Izuna didn't exactly like sleeping on the dirty ground, especially in the middle of a probably wild forest at night. This takes her back to a flashback from when she was a child and thought the yokai around temple shrines were especially hostile to disrespectful loiterers, as childish as that is Izuna won't take any second chances.

"Hm."

Toshinari waited patiently as the strangers introduced themselves one after another. He felt a little unreasonable, asking them their names before even introducing himself. Hell, the oldest one of them all even called him out on it. The boy had been somewhat on edge, disoriented and confused by the sudden transition from his room to a forest in the blink of an eye, but he quickly came to realize that everyone else here was just as lost as he was. For better or worse, they were all together in this.

"My name's Tokuda Toshinari. Pleased to meet you all."

He scratched the back of his head, surveying the forest for a second time and noting the presence of the torii while the rest of the group discussed survival skills and rivers.

Well, at least we're still in Japan. He mused to himself.

It seemed one of the girls, Izuna, had noticed it too, suggesting they follow the path to find a temple. It was the best option they had at the moment, at least in Toshinari's opinion.

"Good idea," he complimented, starting down the path.

"We should get going—before the sun goes down, that is."

Keeping to mind their names as she was more than sure that she would need their names later on in their... voyage, Hiroko listened intently to what Kaito had to say. He mentioned something about appearing from 'thin air' but she was rather sure that this was meant to be some sort of exaggeration or expression. After all, they didn't know where everyone came from so it might as well be that. She rubbed the back of her head. Well, there wasn't any shelter around but maybe having food or water would be good seeing as they had none on their person right now. Adjusting her grip on her backpack, she readied herself for a trek. Might as well do something to get back to civilization wherever that may be.

"Sounds like a plan. Let's find a place to stay at for now." She said with a nod as the broken up path went through a torii. As they all knew, seeing as they all seemed to Japanese like herself, a temple should be nearby or this was a holy site. If all else fails, at least they knew that someone uses this path. Anything that has a roof would be a blessing right now. She knows that staying out at night wasn't exactly the best idea in the city - and she guessed it went double for when they're in an unfamiliar location and also in the middle of a forest.

She then began walking. Might as well take the lead just in case something was out there. She wasn't about to let three younger kids take the fall by taking the lead. For now, she'd at least try to 'protect' them. They looked around college age or late highschool age. "If nothing else, at least we have someplace to stay for the night." She tapped her finger on her side - a small gesture she usually does with her friends to tell them to follow. She had done it unconsciously and simply slipped her hands inside her pockets, pretending that it had not happened.

Kaito's face fell slightly when he saw the torii Izuna was pointing at. However, he immediately kicked himself mentally for feeling that way. Still being in Japan was far more preferable than being in some random fantasy world! Who knew what kin of danger they might have found themselves in had that been the case!

Still, he couldn't quite prevent the disappointment from making itself known, sighing.

"Ah man, we're still in Japan..." He said. "I mean, I know it's dumb, but I kinda hoped this was some crazy fantasy world, and we'd all accidentally gotten pulled across like in all the anime..."

He looked to the others.

"Not that this is a bad thing though, this is definitely the better situation! Although some weird spatial stuff is still definitely going on. People don't just blink into a new place out of nowhere like that..."

And then he grinned, picking up all his stuff.

"Still though, this might be fun! I've never really been on a trip with friends before, so I'm gonna make the most of this."

And then he ran ahead a little. Not far enough for the others to lose sight of him, but definitely in a way that would easily convey his excitement at the idea of a hike with other people.

However, almost immediately after he started running, he noticed the two statues and stopped to take a look. He frowned briefly at the odd writing, before jumping back in shock as he suddenly understood it.

"Hey, can you guys also understand this, or is it just me? Because I'm pretty sure I shouldn't."

Honestly, at this point he was getting a little nervous, especially considering what the writing actually said. Mulling over that particular fact a little longer, he realised something else.

"Uh, but maybe let's not read it aloud if you do. For all we know, it might end up being some weird curse thing, and I dot want to be worrying about that as we walk into the forest at night."

After the statues, Kaito decided not to run quite so far ahead as they walked, instead walking relatively close to the others. He still wandered ahead a bit, looking around curiously, but he was clearly kind of nervous. He jumped again when the boom rang out, but after a few moments of mild panic, he seemed to calm down again. However, he decided that maybe it would be best to not walk ahead, instead staying within a couple of meters of who he thought looked the most composed, Hiroko.

Eventually, he found himself helping to clear the path ahead, when he caught sight of an old, decrepit looking building. On second inspection, it looked kind of like a shrine, but while he had originally been relieved for some actual shelter, that realisation made him hesitate. He was already nervous, and he wasn't sure he wanted to risk pissing off any spirits after the weird stuff from before.

Of course, a few seconds later he realised that it was either take shelter here or keep walking through the forest in the dark, so he decided to speak up.

"Hey guys, think we should just take shelter here for the night?" He asked, not quite able to keep the nervousness out of his voice. "It might be dangerous to keep walking once it gets dark, so I reckon we should just cut our losses for the day and get going again in the morning."

As he spoke, he took of his bag and rummaged through it, before grinning and pulling out a decent sized wooden container.

"Also, I know it's not much, but I do have a bento we could probably share, so we should be good for food, at least for tonight."

Following Hiroko's lead toward the old path, Izuna took a minute to stare at the unknown language before all of a sudden, the words in her perspective are coming into an understandable form almost as if something was placed inside her brain so she would know what it says.

"I hate of which I am. I should never forget." Sounds like one of those cryptic moral lesson messages at the beginning of every JRPG and like most players of that genre, she really doesn't understand the context behind it. "Uhh, yeah I can understand it. Weird, never seen that type of symbolism before." Izuna replied to the fisherboy's question before moving on forward to the path.

...

The sudden boom of a thunderclap sound caused Izuna to "yip" adorably and flinch in place before the gusts start blowing in. Her hands were immediately on her skirt to keep it from flying up. When it settled, they continued their short trek and came upon a rundown, abandoned shrine. This got her spine chilling.

"A-aren't there other shrines here?" Perhaps looking at Creepypasta posts in the manga cafe was not the best idea. The silver-headed cutie looked to her surroundings, maybe there was a secret path they missed? All these denials running through her head before she mentally admits there's no other path out of this wandering through a dense forest, and that's not the best idea right now.

"...why did it have to be abandoned?" Another sigh came from her lips before approaching it slowly, stopping beside Hiroko, in front of Kaito and Tokuda. She turned her head to the older woman and gulped. "Could you umm... do it, please?"

A trip with friends huh? This kid had a weird meaning of a 'friend' since they were just thrown together all of a sudden mere minutes before. But she guessed it would be a trip with acquaintances. Hiroko was quite surprised when the boy - Kaito - stepped forward and took the lead. He ran ahead and she was tempted to call him back. Then she remembered that she didn't really have any jurisdiction over these people. They were younger, yes, but not by that much.

When both Kaito and Izuna inspected the writing on the statues, she decided to look at the figures first. Neither of them looked familiar - none of the deities she knew looked like that. Her face scrunched up as she scrutinized the statues, but was snapped out of it when the two pointed out that there was some form of unknown language that they could understand. Taking a peek, she looked at the unfamiliar characters until it amde sense.

Somehow.

"I also seem to understand this text." Hiroko replied with a nod. However, there was no use with them hanging around there for any longer. She'd think about this after they reached shelter. She turned and continued on, following close behind Kaito.

The thunderclap shocked all of them, it would seem. Hiroko was startled but didn't show it and a strong gust of wind followed. Hiroko looked up to inspect how the weather was to see that there wasn't anything wrong. Hiroko shrugged it off as they continued on. It was a good thing Kaito decided to walk closer to them. She'd rather not lose sight of him.

When they came upon the shrine, she was disappointed to see that it had been abandoned. She was hoping that maybe there was a priest they could talk to - or at least a caretaker. But at least it was a roof - even if it's a little rickety. "Well, it's better than nothing, to be honest." She pointed out.

Upon being asked by Izuna to go first, she nodded. Hiroko wasn't one for being scared by antique things. She lived in a run down apartment where the floors creaked every night. After living in such horrible conditions, ghosts and demons were the least of your problem.

She approached the shrine, and proceeded towards the door carefully. She wasn't sure just how old this place was, and she'd rather not have the floor give away understand her and injure her. Once she got past that, she would test the door - seeing if it would open properly or just break down.

Just as she thought, the place was looks creepy. Izuna stepped back a bit to double check in case there was another path out of the forest. Seeing that as a futile attempt she decided to take out her cellphone. "Okay! I am not sleeping there, let's see if I can access my Maps app." Said Izuna as she input her pattern to unlock the phone. Her battery life was still full and it was the same time as they were in Yokohama, she clicked on her Maps app immediately and as of now... it was just buffering... and buffering... and buffering...

Don't shrines nowadays usually have WiFi? She would think, looking back at the house they were supposed to stay in, it's highly possible that the shrine was pre-2000s. She turned to the others with a puzzled look. "You guys brought your phones with you? I can't seem to connect to anything around here. Shrine must be abandoned for this reason, I bet." The young girl gave herself a little snort.

The group was walking down the path in the hopes of finding a temple. Toshinari couldn't help but liken it to a quest in a video game of some kind. He had been the first to start walking down the path, but gradually drifted to the middle of the marching order — no doubt subconsciously. It was the safest place to be, after all.

He had intended to walk past the statues, favouring reaching the temple instead, but curiosity had gotten the better of him when he saw everyone else examining the statues too. Taking a look at the foreign symbols until they mysteriously began to make sense to him.

"Yeah, I understand it too." He answered. The phrases on the statues were succinct, but the subject matter came as something of a surprise to Toshinari.

Oi, isn't this writing kind of depressing?

Between the bizarre text and being deposited in a forest with no explanation, there was a lot to be concerned about. When the boom echoed through the forest, Toshinari's immediate assumption was that it was thunder. Except there didn't seem to be any signs of a storm.

"An explosion?" He questioned aloud. It was a unusual attempt at a justification for a unusual circumstance. In any case, the noise definitely ramped up Toshinari's desire to reach some kind of shelter, if it wasn't already high enough.

Reaching the shrine was disappointing, to say the least. It was a shelter for the impending nightfall, but the place was decrepit. He didn't seem to be the only one unhappy with this development, and from the sound of things, there were similar shades of dismay amongst the group.

"Well I think it looks kind of homely," He said with a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

He waited for Hiroko to inspect the shrine at Izuna's behest, following her inside only when it became clear that the shrine wasn't going to completely collapse upon their heads. The shrine wasn't much the look at — quite the opposite actually — but if you ignored the gaping hole in the roof, the several layers of dust, the cobwebs and potential spider infestation, the shrine seemed like an okay place to spend the night. Sort of.

"Better to take our chances here than sleeping in the woods." He replied to Izuna's protests, making his way to the most spider-free corner of the room, displacing some of the settled dust where he stepped.

The door opened faster than she expected, and it didn't even give way. Thank goodness for that. She didn't want to deal with some draft coming from the outside thanks to a broken down door. Though once she stepped inside, she realized that the need to worry about the draft coming from a broken door was unneeded since there was a hole on the roof. Well, she just hoped it wouldn't rain during the night. Toshinari had already proceeded inside while Izuna did not like the idea of staying in there.

Hiroko couldn't blame her. Sleeping with the knowledge of spiders being present wasn't the most comforting thought. When Izuna took out her phone to search for where they were, nothing came up. Or rather, it just didn't seem to work. Hiroko doubted her phone would work but to humor the girl, she decided to take hers out and tapped on the Map App, and it also didn't work. It was just buffering. She showed the screen of her phone to the younger girl. "Doesn't work for me either. We're probably in too deep in whatever forest this is..."

She then turned to Toshinari who had made himself comfortable in one of the corners of the shrine where it didn't look like the spiders nested their too much. "It's just for one night anyway. We can continue searching for a way back tomorrow morning." Hiroko did wonder if she could sleep under these circumstances. Putting aside the spiders and the rickety roof, the fact that they're in the middle of the wilderness were animals may pop up and attack them made her feel uneasy.

Hiroko gave Izuna a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, we'll be fine in here. Better in here than out in the forest."