Mamoru: “You need to calm down. I already told you, as a ranger I will guide you safely through the forest.”

  Najun cannot cope well with the loss of his abilities. None of his magical powers are working.

  Najun: “First I can’t read, and now I can’t use my abilities anymore. What’s wrong with me?”

  Mamoru: “There is nothing wrong with you. Come on, let’s go and properly treat your wounds first.”

  Najun: “No. I need to know what’s going on with me. How I got here. Who brought me here and injured me like this.”

  Mamoru continues reading his book. He searches for a suitable ranger-like reaction to Najun’s behavior but can’t find anything fitting.

  Mamoru: “The only thing I can offer you is to treat your wounds and escort you out of the forest. Other than that, I can’t do anything for you.”

  Najun glares at Mamoru angrily. Not only has he lost many of his vital abilities, he is also injured. And now there is this ranger with him who is absolutely no help at all.

  Najun: “Are you messing with me? You can tell I’m not interested in your stupid help.”

  Mamoru: “I’m sorry, but that’s just how a ranger behaves.”

  Najun: “A ranger isn’t a person out of a book. You’re real, so act like a human being and not like a character from a game whose dialogue and behavior are preprogrammed!”

  Mamoru: “Are you saying that I am a bad person?”

  Najun: “You behave like someone who isn’t human. So yes, you’re a bad example.”

  Mamoru falls silent. He closes the book and looks out the window. Najun throws him a doubtful glance and clicks his tongue. He continues walking when he suddenly hears fast footsteps behind him. He turns around but is immediately tackled.

  Najun is slammed against the wall and then thrown to the floor. His right leg starts bleeding again.

  Najun: “Are you crazy? What was that?”

  Mamoru: “You said I am a bad person. A bad person is a bad ranger.”

  He holds the book forward. Najun notices something that looks like a bookmark, but it is far too wide to be one.

  Mamoru: “I was told I would become a great ranger. Who are you to doubt his words?!”

  He pulls out the bookmark, which turns out to be a knife. He slowly draws it out and grips it tightly.

  In the next moment, he rushes toward Najun and thrusts the blade into the wall beside him. Najun barely manages to slide aside, narrowly avoiding a deep stab wound to his chest.

  Mamoru: “Say it right now—that I am a great ranger. I am a good person. Say ittttttt!”

  He pulls the knife out of the wall. He aims it at Najun again and stabs. With great effort and pain, Najun dodges once more. He is now standing in front of Mamoru, even though it’s difficult. His leg is still bleeding, but that is secondary now. First, he has to survive this situation.

  Najun: “I’ll say it. You are a good person and a good ranger.”

  Mamoru: “I want you to mean it. You’re only saying that because I’m holding a knife. Mean it!”

  Najun: “I do. Really.”

  Mamoru: “No, you’re lying. You’re a liar. He even wrote in the book that I don’t have to treat liars well.”

  Najun: “That doesn’t make any sense. How am I supposed to prove that I mean it?”

  Mamoru: “You can’t. It’s too late.”

  He prepares for his third attack.

  Najun: “Stop!”

  Mamoru freezes. He lowers his hand and looks at Najun with a dark expression.

  Najun: “Who gave you that book?”

  Mamoru: “So you can make fun of him?”

  Najun: “No. I’m just interested. Please tell me.”

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  Mamoru hesitates, thinking about whether he should answer. After a few minutes, he gives in and puts the knife back into the book.

  Mamoru: “It was given to me by a very wise and good person. He showed me the purpose of my life—that I am destined to be a ranger.”

  Najun: “Do you even know that person?”

  Mamoru: “I don’t have to. I know he gave me the book because it was meant for me. He wrote everything himself because he knew only I could understand it.”

  Najun: “So what do you actually do? What is your job as a ranger?”

  Mamoru: “I take care of the forest and the people who pass through it. Picking up trash, protecting animals, guiding lost people through the forest, documenting all anomalies, and so on. An additional task is this hospital. The book says I have to walk through it once every day. It’s on my daily route, so it fits.”

  Najun nods politely. He has to be careful about what he says around Mamoru and how he behaves.

  Najun: “[This guy is clearly insane. I should just let him guide me through the forest. Once I’m out, I can look for the others or go straight home.]”

  Najun: “That person means a lot to you, doesn’t he?”

  Mamoru: “Yes. The task he gave me suits me perfectly. He knows me so well, even though we didn’t interact much.”

  Najun takes on a more confident posture.

  Najun: “I accept your offer. Please guide me safely and quickly through the forest, like a true ranger would.”

  Mamoru smiles like a small child. He straightens his hat and places a hand on Najun’s shoulder.

  Mamoru: “I’d be happy to. Thanks to me, you’ll get out of the forest quickly.”

  Mamoru and Najun start walking. Mamoru talks a lot about his duties as a ranger. Even though he seems to repeat himself every minute, Najun doesn’t interrupt him. He has developed a certain fear of Mamoru.

  So he just nods the entire time and smiles at him.

  After treating Najun’s injuries and walking two floors down, they hear something. They hear the sound of a broom scrubbing the floor. They move closer and closer to the sound until they see a broom being used by a person.

  A woman wearing a long white-and-red kimono. Her kimono is stained with several red spots. Her hair is long and black. Compared to her clothes, her hair looks very neat and clean.

  Najun: “Who is that?”

  Mamoru: “That’s just a lonely and shy woman. She’s always been here. She practically lives here, but only on the condition that she keeps everything clean.”

  Mamoru approaches the woman.

  Mamoru: “Hey, how are you? I haven’t seen you the last few days.”

  The woman uses her hands to respond.

  After their short exchange, Mamoru returns to Najun. He has said goodbye to the woman and now wants to leave. Only now does Najun notice the abnormality of her face: she is wearing a rabbit mask. The mask has two long ears.

  She seems to have worn it for so long that her face has fused with it. Remnants of her decayed face can be seen through the mask.

  Mamoru: “Introduce yourself to her as well.”

  Najun agrees and approaches her. He feels a bit disgusted by her face, but he manages to compose himself.

  Najun: “Good day, my name is Najun Sakiko. Mamoru is currently guiding me out of the hospital and then out of the forest.”

  Najun extends his hand, but he gets no response. No noticeable reaction, no gesture that could be interpreted as an answer. Nothing.

  Mamoru: “I told you, she’s a bit shy.”

  Najun: “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

  Najun turns around and walks back to Mamoru. Suddenly, Mamoru runs toward him, shouting loudly for Najun to get away.

  Instinctively, Najun ducks and barely avoids a horizontal sword slash. He looks back and sees the rabbit woman holding a sword.

  Mamoru grabs Najun by the shoulder and drags him down the hallway. The rabbit woman runs after them.

  Mamoru: “What’s wrong with her? She’s never behaved like this before.”

  Mamoru explains how she removed the broom attachment and suddenly pulled out a blade. Her broom was a disguised sword. It has no hand guard and resembles a shirasaya.

  Najun: “Why is she suddenly attacking me?”

  Mamoru: “No idea.”

  Mamoru pushes Najun behind him. He pulls his knife out of his book and takes a fighting stance.

  Mamoru: “Hide. I’ll try to talk to her and block her attacks as best as I can.”

  Najun looks shocked—positively surprised.

  Najun: “Why are you doing this?”

  Mamoru: “As a ranger, I must safely guide all visitors of the forest. This hospital is part of it.”

  Najun: “Can you even manage with a knife against her sword?”

  Mamoru: “Don’t worry. I’m quite skilled with a knife.”

  Najun runs. His leg injury makes it difficult, but he manages to get out of the fighters’ line of sight. He hears many sounds of metal clashing against metal.

  Apparently, Mamoru really is managing to fight her with the small knife.

  Relieved, Najun enters a small broom closet.

  Najun: “[I can’t hear anything anymore. I guess I’m far enough away. Now I just have to wait… for what, actually? What if Mamoru gets killed and I’m alone with that woman in the hospital? Should I help him? But without my abilities, I can’t do anything.]”

  Najun looks around the closet and discovers a broom. He breaks off the end and rubs it against a metal cabinet. The tip slowly sharpens.

  Najun: “[Should I use cleaning chemicals and spray them in her face? I’ll take it with me.]”

  Najun takes his improvised spear and a spray bottle with cleaning solution.

  Najun: “I can do this. I can do this.”

  He slowly opens the door. After a brief hesitation, he takes one step out when he hears dripping behind the door.

  He looks back and sees the rabbit woman. She had been about to walk past, but Najun revealed himself too early.

  Her blade is covered in blood. She slowly turns around and notices Najun. He quickly retreats inside, but he already hears her fast footsteps. She pounds heavily on the door and strikes it with her sword.

  Najun: “Shit. Just when she was about to walk past, I step out. How stupid!”

  Najun locks the door. He stacks several brooms against it to barricade it, but soon her sword pierces through the door. She cuts through it like paper.

  Najun: “Wait. What did you do to Mamoru?! Did you hurt or kill him? He was so good to you, and you kill him. You want me, right? Then come and get me!”

  Najun thrusts his spear through one of the slits in the door. He misses, but it doesn’t matter to him. He blocks her sword strikes and sprays the cleaning solution in all directions. The attacks stop.

  Najun: “[Did it work?]”

  He slowly approaches the door and looks through one of the slits. He sees nothing—until suddenly another eye appears directly opposite him.

  It is not a real eye. An eye beneath the mask, faintly visible through it.

  An eye of horror.

  Rabbit Woman: “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”