To One Day Reach that Flowery Stage - 5: A Flittering Guest

???

BGM: --:-- / --:-- Play

1

Haruka

Wh...

2

Haruka

What is this place...?!

3

MEIKO

Isn't this crazy?
You should've seen the way KAITO reacted. He nearly fell into that pond over there.

4

KAITO

Sh-She doesn't need to know that...

5

KAITO

Still, what made this place appear all of a sudden? The path we took to get here is also something I'd never seen until now...

6

MEIKO

I don't know, but I suspect that something about what you and the others are feeling must've changed, Haruka.

7

Haruka

Us...?

8

KAITO

Yes, I'm inclined to agree.
After all, this SEKAI was born out of your feelings.

9

Haruka

Oh...

10

Haruka

Still, our feelings...? What's changed...?
We've been very busy lately, but...

11

Haruka

Huh? A butterfly...?

12

KAITO

Look at that.
Its bright orange wings are so beautiful.

13

MEIKO

And delicate. Like the hem of a floaty dress. Which species do you think it is?

14

Haruka

(Its wings really are beautiful...
They're bright, shiny and...)

15

Haruka

(Oddly captivating.
I'm feeling all this nostalgia for some reason...)

16

KAITO

Oh, it landed on that flower...

17

MEIKO

Huh?
There's a vine wrapped around that flower...

18

Haruka

Oh, you're right...
Also, it looks kind of strange.

19

KAITO

And this glistening bit. Is it the nectar?

20

MEIKO

So, this butterfly was just trying to get to the nectar?

21

Haruka

I don't know...

22

Haruka

But I feel bad about it being caught in a vine like this, so I think I'll try to free it...

Sound Effect: Play

23

KAITO

Wait, Haruka, be careful.

24

MEIKO

It's very slippery around the pond, so please watch your step.

25

Haruka

Thank you.
I'll be careful, but this is wrapped around it much more tightly than I...

26

Haruka

Huh...?
This light...

27

KAITO

Haruka?

Sound Effect: Play

28

Children's Voices

Thank you for coming to perform for us today!!!

BGM: --:-- / --:-- Play

29

Haruka

That sounded like a group of children...

30

Haruka

Wh-Where am I...?

31

???

Thank you for listening to my song!

32

Haruka

Huh...?

33

Lady

Seeing all your beautiful smiles has filled me with so much joy!

34

Haruka

...!

Sound Effect: Play

35

Haruka

It's her...!

36

Boy

I really love the way you sing!

37

Girl A

You're done already?
Can you come back again next Sunday?

38

Girl B

Yeah, we wanna sing with you more!

39

Haruka

Oh...

40

Lady

Hehe. Thank you all very much!
Unfortunately, this is it for today.

41

Lady

But I'm sure we'll meet again someday.
When we do, let's sing lots and lots more together!

42

Lady

So, let's pinky swear!

43

Haruka

(I didn't realize she performed in places like this...)

44

Haruka

(I have no idea if this actually happened or if this is all part of my imagination...)

45

Haruka

(But it's nice to see that she's still making people smile...)

46

Lady

Alright, next, it's time for that fun anime to air! Let's see... It's on channel...

47

Haruka

(Is something wrong?
She's parked herself in front of that TV for some reason.)

48

Show MC

<And our second most watched show from this past week is... “Chat A Lot About Nothing with Takashi Arimura!”>

49

Haruka

...!

50

Show MC

<And we have the “Check Out All The Cool Stuff In The Station's Gift Shop!” segment coming in as the most watched part of the program! Check out our highlight reel!>

51

Minori

<Oh wow! Look at these!
They're shaped like the studio's mascot, Mr. Alarm!>

52

Airi

<Chocolate inside a monaka wedged into a cookie wrapped in a waffle... Mr. Alarm has become a snack within a snack!>

53

Haruka

This program...

54

Shizuku

<But these kinds of souvenirs are meant to be passed out to a lot of people, so I think it's good that they have a wide variety available.>

55

Haruka

<I agree.
Also because these are all really good.>

56

Arimura

<You've eaten them already, Haruka?!
The rest of us haven't even opened them yet!>

Sound Effect: Play

57

Lady

Haruka's still doing her best as an idol...
That's so great to see.

58

Haruka

What...?

59

Lady

I was so worried when she left ASRUN, so I'm relieved to see that she's decided to go back to being an idol...

60

Lady

Hehe. I knew she had talent...

61

Lady

And I know that tomorrow's going to be a better day!

62

Haruka

Oh...

63

Haruka

...!
Where am I n...

64

MEIKO

Wh-What was that light...?

65

KAITO

That was startling.
It became so bright all of a sudden and...

66

KAITO

Are you okay, Haruka...?

67

Haruka

Oh, I'm okay...
But...

68

Haruka

Did you two also see...?

69

MEIKO

See what?

70

Haruka

Okay...
I guess I'm the only one who saw.

71

KAITO

Huh?

72

MEIKO

Are you sure you're okay...?
Maybe that light did something to your eyes...

73

Haruka

Oh, no, my eyes are fine.
The thing is...

74

KAITO

You saw your hero watching the show you were on the other day...?

75

Haruka

I did...
It may've just been a pleasant dream...

BGM: --:-- / --:-- Play

76

Haruka

But it made me really happy.
She even said how inspired she was after seeing me.

77

Haruka

I was able to spread hope to wherever she was through the airwaves...

78

Haruka

In that sense...
I'm really glad I decided to keep trying.

79

MEIKO

Haruka...

80

KAITO

I don't think it was just a pleasant dream.

81

Haruka

Huh...?

82

MEIKO

I agree...
I think the person you saw really was her.

83

MEIKO

I mean, you've been working all this time to take the hope she instilled in you and spread it to so many others.

84

MEIKO

So, I wouldn't be surprised if you were able to give back some of that hope to her.

85

Haruka

MEIKO...

86

Haruka

Yeah.
You might be right.

87

Haruka

But... That still isn't enough.

88

KAITO

Haruka...?

89

Haruka

(Ever since that day she inspired me, I've been striving to be like her. I still am even now.)

90

Haruka

(And yet...
I still don't feel like I've been able to reach where she was when we first met. I mean...)

91

Haruka

(She hasn't stopped.
She's still spreading hope to everybody she can.)

92

Haruka

(She's still inspiring them, making them smile and...)

93

Haruka

That's it...
That's what's most important.

94

KAITO

Haruka?

95

Haruka

I think I found the answer to my question.

96

MEIKO

Oh, about coming up with a plan to make your dream come true?

97

Haruka

Yes.

98

Haruka

There's still a lot that we have to consider, but as long as spreading hope to others remains our top priority...

99

Haruka

We should be able to carve out a path and find the right answers in terms of what we need to do to make our ultimate dream a reality.

Haruka

I actually feel a little relieved now...

MEIKO

Right. All of you will most likely encounter some tough tasks and difficult challenges in the future...

MEIKO

But I'm sure you'll do fine since you're driven by such powerful feelings. I doubt that's going to change.

KAITO

I agree. And we'll keep giving you all the support we can so that you'll also be able to spread hope to those who don't know who you are yet...

Haruka

Hehe. Thank you both very much.

Butterfly

...

KAITO

Oh, it's flying away.

MEIKO

You managed to free this flower from that vine, Haruka, but I guess our fluttery friend wasn't after its nectar...

Haruka

(Wait a second... That butterfly's wings...)

Sound Effect: Play

Haruka

(They resemble her outfit.)

Haruka

She did it again...

Haruka

(But...)

Haruka

(I hope you're watching.
I'm going to take the hope you gave me and spread it to others as we make more and more progress towards making our dream come true.)

Haruka

(Our dream of one day doing a show at the Dome.)

Haruka

(And I really hope that I'll get to see your smiling face there...)

Next Chapter: Unpacking