Colt rubbed his aching head as he sat up in his bed. The comforting interior of the shed greeted him, instead of the foreboding domain of the forest. Laying in a bed on his right was Hisa, with Jax in his own bed on the left.

Standing at the entrance was Hemiko, holding a small bundle of flowers in hand.

"G-Good morning, Colt. I was just checking on you guys."

"Yo, did you guys drag us back to the village?" He sought to wipe the sleep from his eyes, "I don't remember making it all the way back..."

"Mhmm." She sat at the edge of his bed, continuing to play with her flowers, "Kinsho and Ginsho carried you guys here. Your friends were really injured, but you weren't. My mommy gave them both some Blue Apple juice to help them recover."

He glanced between Jax and Hisa, "They're as good as new, those apples are awesome!"

She giggled, "I know right? Nature is amazing! We have tons of plants and trees in our village, and I'd be glad to give you a tour of them all!"

"I'm down with that."

"Alright, but we should probably tend to more important matters." She rose from the bed, "Are you hungry?"

"N-Not really-"

"There's no point in lying, I already know you are!" She sped out of the shed, leaving him no choice in the matter, "I'll prepare you all some breakfast, so meet me at my mother's house!"

These people are too kind...

At least it seems like she forgot about me being a fake savior.

Jax groaned as he rubbed his head, "Where are we?"

Colt stifled a laugh, "Who wakes up mad?"

"I'm not mad, my glasses are gone!"

"Eh, who cares? You can see without them, right?"

"I'm going to kill you."

"To answer your earlier question, we're in the village you and Hisa were searching for." said Colt.

"At least you carried your weight." Jax left his bed, stretching his arms, "I can find that medicine now."

"Actually, can we wait for Hisa to wake up before I explain the situation?"

"I don't feel like waiting." Jax shook Hisa out of her sleep, "Go on."

"Why?" Hisa rolled out of the bed and groaned, "I was having the best dream!"

Colt proceeded to tell them both about the circumstances regarding the villagers and Hokkaido.

"Oof..." Hisa grabbed her axe and started twirling it in the air. "I want to fight Hokkaido now."

"That's rather unfortunate," said Jax, "And now you have to help them since they believe you're their savior?"

Colt shook his head, "Not just that, I want to help them."

"I mean, they did heal me and the moron. I don't mind helping them out, but this is a mafia. I didn't sign up for this..."

Hisa jumped up, "I'll help as long as I can fight that big guy with the chains again, I'm in!"

Jax groaned and retrieved another pair of glasses from his book bag. "I say we leave."

Colt stifled his laugh, "What? But you just admitted that they saved your lives!"

"I know that, but that doesn't have anything to do with now."

"That's real selfish y'know?"

"Shut up...Didn't you come here for the fruit too?"

Colt rose from his bed, "I mean-Yeah! But I changed my mind. At least I'm still helping them."

Jax sighed as he put on his glasses, "Don't try to sell me that honorable crap. You're masking your true intentions by helping them with this. Once it's all over, you'll still want the fruit. Right?"

"Forget about the healing stuff for now! Can't you see that these people are suffering?"

"You told me that they're suffering. I haven't seen anything myself."

"Dude! What in the hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothing's wrong with me, I'm thinking with my head, and you're thinking with your heart." He turned to face Colt directly, "What if you died, trying to uphold some phony sense of justice you have?"

"Phony?" Colt grabbed Jax by the collar, "I don't have a phony sense of justice, I'm just doing the normal thing any decent human being would do!"

"You need to get in touch with the world, you idiot. There isn't a single person on this planet who legitimately thinks like that."

"There are people like that. It's just dick-headed edgelords like you who're the loud minority!"

Jax snatched away from Colt and picked up his book bag, "Keep dreaming...People like you are what's wrong with society. Idealistic dreamers."

"There isn't anything wrong with having hopes and dreams. People like you who fake tragic lives need to get their heads out of their asses. If I'm in an idealistic dream world, you're forcing yourself to be in a nightmare. Why don't you wake up?"

Jax stopped at the entrance and let out a sigh, "The fact that you expect to keep moving forward with that mindset baffles me. I guess you'll just have to learn the hard way." He turned to Hisa, "I'm gonna try to find some of those blue apples around here, and then I'm leaving. You can stay if you want."

"No!" Colt grabbed Jax's book bag and glared into his eyes, "I'm not letting you take a damn thing from these people. Not after everything they've been through..."

"Colt." Jax's glare intensified, "Let me go."

"If you're gonna run, then get the hell out. But you're not taking anything with you."

"Run?"

"Yeah. Just like you claimed that I'm masking my true intentions with phony justice, you're masking your fear with bullshit logic."

"Fear? You truly amaze me at how clueless you can be." He shoved Colt off of him, "Aren't you the one who had such a horrible life that getting thrusted into this shithole of a world seemed like a blessing?"

"And?"

"I'm just saying. If anyone should be avoiding unnecessary conflict, it should be you. I heard about your encounter with Fucshia the other day-"

Colt punched Jax straight in the jaw, silencing him.

Jax threw his glasses onto his bed and struck Colt with a critical burst, blasting him to the ground. "I'm leaving." He retrieved his glasses and left the room.

Colt wiped the blood from his nose and jumped up from the ground, "That bitch..."

Hisa jumped onto Colt's back, pulling him from his rage induced trance. "Colt...I'm hungry. Is there any food around here?"

"You can have some of it from my book bag-nevermind. Come with me." He walked out of the shed and made his way through the village until he reached Lamia's house, leading Hisa along with him.

He sat at the table, gesturing for Hisa to join him. "Hemiko said that she was going to cook us something."

"Who's that?"

As Hisa asked the question, Hemiko stepped into the room with a large plate of nuts and oats.

"Oh, your friend is awake too?" She sat the plate down on the table and bowed in front of Hisa, "My name is Hemiko. It's a pleasure to meet-"

Hisa pulled Hemiko into a hug and squealed, "Aw! You're so cute!"

"Th-Thanks." She sat down next to Hisa and smiled, "Here's a wide array of nuts that we grew right here in our village!"

"That's a wide variety...So, is this village composed of everything with plants?" asked Colt.

"Mhmm. We have plants and trees for all kinds of purposes! There are plants that can treat rashes, help with cleaning, and even some that can be used for combat!"

Hisa cleared her throat as she nearly choked over her food, "R-Really? What are they?"

"There are a ton, but our main weapon is the sandbox tree. It's seed pockets explode, shooting their seeds out like bullets."

"Oh my God! I have to see that!" Hisa tilted her head as she started back eating, "I wonder how it would feel to get shot by that..."

"What are you?" Colt took a few nuts from the plate, "Who do you guys fight with these warfare plants?"

"Outsiders." said Hemiko. "Don't you remember when my Mommy told you about people stealing our fruit?"

"I remember that. I guess it makes sense."

"It's more than just that. Hokkaido has men in the forest that kill anyone who attempts to flee the village. We can't let anyone out, and we can't let anyone in. Hokkaido forces us to kill anyone caught in the forest."

"What if they aren't bandits?"

"He won't care. That's why I...don't like him."

Colt rubbed her shoulder, "Don't worry, I'm still gonna kick his ass for you guys."

She giggled and nodded her head.

"Hemiko!" Hisa gently pinched her cheeks, "You're freckles are so cute! I want to adopt you as a sidekick!"

"Th-Thank you?"

Hisa leaned back in her seat, "Do you guys only eat vegetables out here?"

"That'd be correct," said Hemiko, "We don't have any meat or fish in the village, though I've always wanted to taste some."

Hisa's eyes flared to life, "Don't worry! I'll kill Hokkaido, and I'll bring you to a good steakhouse! You'll be able to eat until you explode!"

Hemiko shuddered, "Wh-Why would I want to do that?"

The door flung open as Jax stepped inside of the room.

"Why are you still here?" asked Colt.

"I'm looking for the fruit."

"No!" Colt stood up and walked towards him.

"What's your obsession with me?" asked Jax, "And why are you still sitting around? Aren't you supposed to be playing superhero or something?"

"Actually, I need to get my lick back from earlier. That critical burst was a dick move!"

Hisa hissed at them both, "Don't argue in front of Hemiko, you're scaring her. I'll jump in if you keep it up!"

A gunshot flared off outside, prompting Hisa to bring Hemiko to the ground. She shot out through the doors of the house, with Jax following right after her.

I'm not a stranger to gunfire, but this is getting out of control!

Colt shook his head, seeking to rid himself of the fierce ringing in his ears. Taking a brief moment to check on Hemiko, he stepped out into the chaos of the village once more.

Standing in the center of the village was a man in a suit. He held a pistol to the sky, grinning as everyone crowded around him. "Attention, you ingrates! The big boss has an announcement for me to tell you all! Listen up, cuz I'm only telling you once!"