Heyo.

Time for me to write this stuff. So... yeah. *serious face on* CUE THE EYE OF THE TIGER INTRO THEME!

Dun

Dun dun dun

Dun dun dun

Dun dun duuuuun--

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.: Twenty-Three's P.o.V. :.

Silent.

That was what the whole trek was through the Forest. Silent. It was a good thing. But oddly, it felt kind of... awkward. But what can Twenty-Three say? Aside from 'over there' or 'wait', she nor Mono utter a single word to each other.

Yep, it was quite awkward.

The sun was high up in the sky so Twenty-Three put her oil lamp away. Even with the sun out, the Forest seemed dull, but at least less scary rather than last night. Twenty-Three heard the birds singing, it was nice to hear and caused some peace of mind.

Sure that nightmare left her mind, but Doll Twenty-Three would annoy her tiny peice of sanity, just giving her massive headaches and make her weakish. Glad she stayed silent now, but Twenty-Three is sure not for long.

"Watch out!" Mono called out while pulling Twenty-Three close to him, she snapped out her thoughts and saw she nearly fell down a very long and steep slope. Twenty-Three sighed out and faced him, "Thanks," she smiled.

Mono cleared his throat and let go of his grasp on Twenty-Three, "U-Uhm, y-yeah. You're welcome," he said and walked up to the slope then slid down. He nearly stumbled but caught his ground, Twenty-Three walked up to slide next but she heard something snap behind her.

She turned around to the sound to see something inching in the bushes. Twenty-Three leaned closer and heard growling until a big lone wolf crawled out, crouched down and in a fight posistion.

"Twenty-Three? What's wrong?" Mono called from below the slope and Twenty-Three gulped while backing up, "Just a wolf!" She said still eyeing the wolf slowly inching for her.

"A wolf?!"

"Yep! A big one," Twenty-Three answered as the wolf barked and pounced for Twenty-Three, but she managed to dodge it's attack and it scrambled to a tree, only to stand up and growl at her again.

"Try to make it dizzy and get down here!" Mono suggeted and Twenty-Three nodded, "Okay," she said hand on the handle of her umbrella, the wolf lunged for her and nearly scratched her face if Twenty-Three didn't blocked using her arm.

Pain shot through her arm and Twenty-Three yelped, ignoring the pain she swatted the wolf's nose as hard as she can before it attacked again. The wolf shook its head in a daze and Twenty-Three slid down quickly.

She stumbled along the way down and landed on top of Mono with an oof. Twenty-Three looked down on Mono with a sheepish smile, "Sorry," she said before standing up, Mono looked away and stood up too, "I-It's nothing- You're bleeding!"

Twenty-Three looked down on her wounded arm, the wolf managed to tear open the sleeve of her hoodie and gladly the wound wasn't that deep but bled, "Uh, yeah. The wolf scratched me," she said and she could feel Mono frowning, "Well-."

Mono cut short when the wolf barked again. Twenty-Three looked up to see it glaring down at them and she gulped as she held Mono's hand, "Let's go first before we become its chew toys!" She said while running away, Mono followed behind.

The wolf didn't stop there when they ran away, it slid down and pursued them. It pushed through the branched of the trees and barked at them. Mono turned back, "Well seems like it really wants us to be its chew toys," he noted before facing back ahead and pushed a low branch aside before it slapped his face.

The wolf managed to catch up and bounded for Twenty-Three. Twenty-Three rose her umbrella and with the pointy end, she deeply scratched the side of its face when it got close enough. Some blood splattered and stained her hoodie and the wolf whimpered while stopping.

Suddenly it growled louder, and glared at Twenty-Three with hatred as chased them. Twenty-Three lowered her umbrella, That probably wasn't the best plan, she thought while looking back ahead.

Twenty-Three looked around and saw a river with some rocks sprouting out like steps. She pointed to it and turned to Mono, "Over there!" She said and Mono nodded, the both of them running to the gushing river.

The wolf followed behind, but seemed to be failing to catch up. They made it the edge of the river and Twenty-Three took a deep breath, "Well we're here what now?" Mono questioned while the wolf came bounding for them.

"We jump!" Twenty-Three said while letting go of Mono's hand as she backing up and jumped to the rock, Mono gasped, "What?!" He asked indecourously as he watched Twenty-Three land perfectly without slipping on the rock. She turned to Mono and motioned to him, "C'mon!"

Mono looked around then huffed, "Okay fine," he said while backing up. The wolf showed up and Mono ran to the edge of the river and jumped. The wolf nearly nipped on his coat but fortunately it missed.

Mono landed next to Twenty-Three and nearly slipped, and Twenty-Three helped him up. The wolf stopped by the edge of the quickly running water and growled at them. Twenty-Three glared at it, "Let's go," she said while turning and carefully hopping over the rocks, Mono following behind.

They made it to the other edge of the river and Mono turned to see the wolf just glaring angrily at them until its ears went flat and it scampered away.

Twenty-Three's eyebrows knit together, "Huh, wonder what that was running away from-."

"This way!"

Twenty-Three jolted from the familiar voices of the dolls last night, there was rustling and she quickly felt Mono pull her into the bushes with him. They crouched down close together and Twenty-Three remebered that one time they had to go in a box to hide from the dolls. Now it was the same, but with less crowdedness and they could see the other side well.

And felt very awkward - Twenty-Three could add - more awkward than that time in that box. It felt uneasy with Mono's grip around her arms, and well, him being very very close to her.

Twenty-Three pursed her lips and carefully pushed the bushes aside, ignoring the little buzz she was feeling or that it was quite hot when she knew it wasn't hot from the start. Thankfully she felt Mono's hands off of her arms - making her breathe out a breath Twenty-Three didn't knew she held in - and he also peeked out beside her.

There was the dolls, but this time they got bigger in number. Twenty-Three noticed some of them carrying ropes and nets, like they were about to set some traps beforehand.

"Seriously Ollie, why in the world did you head here?" One of the unfamiliar dolls grumbled. Ollie frowned, "I swore I heard something here, Bill," he said.

"It was probably a wolf chasing a deer or something," Pol suggested and walked on, "We're supposed to find those four. Come on!" He said and the unfamiliar doll who spoke scowled at him, "Who made you the boss?"

"No one did. But we are just wasting time looking at nothing so I suggest we get moving," Pol said matter-of-factly and the unfamiliar doll grumbled, "Fine. Let's go and figure out where to put these traps," he said while walking off, the bigger group of doll students following behind him. Pol stayed behind while eyeing the surroundings one more time before walking off.

Twenty-Three carefully crawled to the edge of the bushes and leaned out, seeing the doll's figures dispersing into the foliage. She sighed out in relief and stood up, "Well they have traps for us. Great," she said while turning to Mono who stood up too and brushed his coat off of leaves, he looked at the river then back at Twenty-Three, "And you're bleeding. We are not leaving until it stops," he pointed out while holding her unwounded arm and dragging her to the edge of the river.

"Well how are you going to treat it?" Twenty-Three wondered while Mono made her sit down, Mono looked down at her and she could feel him raising his eyebrow, "I just found out I have a first-aid kit and bandages in my pockets while we were walking," he said while pulling out bandages and a first-aid kit from one of the pockets of his trechcoat.

"Okay, well that solves it," Twenty-Three said as she pulled up her hoodie, she looked up to see that Mono froze, "What? I have a shirt under this. What are you expecting hm~?" she teased and Mono coughed, "Whatever," he said while sitting down beside her.

Twenty-Three giggled while taking off her hoodie and revealed her white loose semi-long sleeved shirt, she put her hoodie aside while looking down on her wound. Her wound was slowly bleeding out and she washed it with the cold river water.

After she washed it Mono did most of the treating, it stung but Twenty-Three could bear it. Once it was done Twenty-Three dipped her hooide in the water, cleaning off the blood. Most of it got away, but her hoodie was fully soaked, so she just stood up, squeezed the water out, and wrapped it around her waist.

Mono stood up too, "Let's keep moving and find Six and Seven. I hope they know about the traps," he said while turning around, walking into the forest.

"Yeah," Twenty-Three mumbled while following behind.

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.: Mono's P.o.V. :.

It was already night time and the trees streched out, dark branchy arms almost seeming to reaching out for the both of them. The Forest was eerily quiet, wasn't there supposed to be an owl or some other nocturnal animal making a noise?

There was a big gust of cold icy wind and it made the leaves rustle, it even made Twenty-Three's oil lamp that she turned on creak a tiny bit. Mono eyed the trees, he hoped those things wouldn't move and try to suffocate both of them. When did the Forest get so creepy?

Twenty-Three huffed while lowering her hand that held the oil lamp, Mono turned to her, "Are you okay?" He asked and Twenty-Three pursed her lips, "Just tired carrying this oil lamp, that and walking this Forest that seems to go on forever," she said while tiredly smiling at him.

"Want me to carry it for you? That and maybe find a place to rest," Mono suggeted. His feet was also getting sore, it hurt when he would accidentally step on a twig and feel the tiny specks of the bark stabbing his soles. A rest seemed like music to his ears for now after walking for hours.

Twenty-Three slowly nodded, "That would be nice, here," she said while handing Mono her oil lamp. Mono accepted it and noticed how heavy it was - no wonder Twenty-Three got tired carrying it - "What the heck is this oil lamp made of?" He spluttered while raising it, Twenty-Three shrugged.

"I don't really know but it is kinda heavy, just tell me when you'll get sore so I can carry it," she said and Mono smiled at her, "No, it's okay. Let's go," he said while walking on, Twenty-Three following behind, arms folded while she eyed the dark Forest.

They continued their silent trek in the Forest, it was very silent with a bit of crikets singing their nightly songs. Even it seemed tranquil, it kept the both of them on edge, you never know when something would show up.

Then there was a loud hoot of an owl that echoed from afar.

Twenty-Three jolted from the sudden sound and held Mono's hand, at first Mono found it a little funny that Twenty-Three got scared of an owl's noise but blushed the next as he realized they were holding hands. He felt the contact of her hand buzz into his and made Mono blush even more. He stared down at their interlocked hands until he heard Twenty-Three clear her throat.

He looked at her with a little blush dusted on her cheeks, "I-I just got surprised... S-sorry about that," she stammered embarrassedly while slowly releasing her grip on Mono's hand.

Mono eyebrows raised at the sight of Twenty-Three's blushing face - it was cute. An idea came into his mind and he silghtly smirked under his paperbag thinking about it more and more. A clearly fun idea he would really want to do.

"Aw~, no need. You can hold my hand all you want when you get scared~," he teased and Twenty-Three jolted, Mono could clearly see her cheeks blush a deeper shade of red while looking at him with shock, "I-I wasn't-!" She interjected but Mono cut her off.

"It's okay 'lil Twenty-Three, everyone gets scared~," Mono teased again while patting the top of her head, Twenty-Three blushed a new deep shade of beetroot red that made Mono's smirk wider. Dang she is short, whatever she says that she is taller than Six, she and Six just have the same height in reality.

"Just... Just shut up," Twenty-Three mumbled while looking away and pouting, Mono turned to face her and tilted his head a bit, "You really want me to?~" he still said in a teasing voice. Twenty-Three only glared at him and Mono laughed, he has done it. He got to see how red Twenty-Three's face could get and he felt very proud about that.

It was so cute!

Author: *shouts in another language* putchabakitbaangcuuuuttteeeelecchhhuuuugggaassehhhhh

"Look how red your face is!" Mono said once his laughter lowered down to giggles, "It's so cute!" He cooed while pinching Twenty-Three's cheek lightly. Twenty-Three pouted at him, "You are taking fun of teasing me ain't cha?" She said while folding her arms.

"Yep, I haven't done it for days now. I am kinda missing it," Mono shrugged as he let go of Twenty-Three's cheek and held out his hand, "Wanna hold my hand? You don't need an excuse this time~," he teased and Twenty-Three puffed her cheeks, "Okay, fine," she said while accepting his offer, holding Mono's hand tight, "Now let's get moving please?"

"You just don't want me teasing you more~," Mono smirked while walking on, Twenty-Three scoffed, "In your dreams."

"Suuuuuure 'lil Twenty-Three."

"S-shut up!"

"One point for me!" Mono said triumphantly while Twenty-Three rolled her eyes and looked away, "I'll let you win this time," she mumbled and Mono turned to her, "Hm? What~?" He said and Twenty-Three squinted her eyes at him while she playfully stuck her tongue out, "Nothing, let's just go find a place to rest," she said.

Mono nodded, "Okay then," he said while walking on, he turned back to take of glimpse of Twenty-Three still blushing a bit while avoiding his gaze.

And they treaded deeper into the Forest.

==================

It was nearly midnight before Mono noticed something nearby past the foliage, carefully he crawled into the bushes to see on the other side was an abandoned campsite. The firepit seemed out for a long time and clearly anyone who stayed there left.

It seemed pretty safe to rest for now, especially the night was getting darker and colder. Mono walked on out and scanned the surroundings before turning back to Twenty-Three, "I think we can rest here for a while," he said as they walked in to the extinguished firepit and Mono let down the oil lamp to the ground beside it.

Twenty-Three sighed out, taking off her hoodie and placing it on the ground beside the firepit, then sitting Indian style on it, "Great," she said, slightly shivering once the cold breeze brushed past again. Her hoodie was damp, but if she wore it she'd get cold so she couldn't really much wear it.

The strong wind gushed again and Twenty-Three huffed while she shivered and rubbed her arms, Mono noticed that and being like any gentleman he took off his trenchcoat and put it over Twenty-Three's shoulders.

"You know if you feel cold you can tell me right?" Mono said and Twenty-Three looked up at him at first with shock, and the next with gratitude while giving off the faintest blush, "Uh, y-yeah. Thanks."

Mono smiled, "You're welcome, I'll go start a fire," he said while walking off to pick up wooden sticks.

Mono walked on, carrying enough sticks, until he heard something snap nearby. He turned his attention to the source of the noise and saw a figure scuttle behind a tree. The said figure's form looked about the same as Mono's, just a bit taller.

"Who's there?" Mono called out while inching slowly to the tree where the figure was hiding behind. Mono looked behind to see...

Nothing.

The figure suddenly disappeared. Where once the figure hid behind had a big soup ladle near the bushes and a wrapped up clothing just beside it. Perplexed, Mono pulled out the ladle and picked up the wrapped up clothing. Mono unwrapped to show it was a cloak, the same one as Twenty-Three's.

Inside, Mono noticed something dangling, he pulled it out to see a note.

You'll need these.

It didn't shown from whom, just three words and made Mono very, very puzzled.

Who was the figure?

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Oandndkwndkw I can't write it all here in this chapterrrrrrrr.

SO

Imma continue it next chapter. Six and Seven can wait herh herh herhhhhh

And I'm lazy writing so

Yeah

Bye!

Wattpad: Publish Finished.