Whither This Path of Thorns - 1: Trembling Hands

Mizuki's Room

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Sound Effect: Play

1

Mafuyu's Message

<Thank you.>

2

Mafuyu's Message

<I was able to tell my dad everything.>

3

Mizuki

Huh...?

4

Mafuyu's Message

<And he understood.>

5

Mizuki

Oh...

6

Mizuki

(Mafuyu told him everything...)

7

Mizuki

(I can only imagine how scary that must've been for her.)

8

Mizuki

(But she didn't run from her dad. She worked up the courage to tell him the truth.)

9

Mizuki

(I also wanna move forward...)

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10

Mizuki

(I kept running and running until now...
That's how I ended up where I am.)

Sound Effect: Play

11

Mizuki

(I've been clinging to what Ena said...)

12

Mizuki

(But...)

13

Mizuki

(I want to tell them...)

14

Mizuki

(This time, I'm going to face it head-on.)

15

Mizuki

*Nod*

Sound Effect: Play

16

Mizuki

(If I'm really going to do this, I should tell Ena first...)

17

Mizuki

(Because she's been waiting all this time.)

18

Mizuki

(I should ask to see when we can meet up...)

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19

???

So weird...

20

Mizuki

...

21

Mizuki

No, I'm done running...

22

Mizuki

No running... Not this time...!

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23

Mizuki

Oh...

Sound Effect: Play

24

Mizuki

(I can barely type... My hands are shaking like crazy...)

25

Mizuki

(Calm down...
Just type your message out one letter at a time.)

Sound Effect: Play

26

Mizuki

Okay...

27

Mizuki

(All that's left is to hit send...)

28

Mizuki

(Hit send and...)

Sound Effect: Play

29

???

Huh...?
Oh, really...?

30

Mizuki

...

31

???

They're kind of a pain to deal with.

32

???

It's all for show, right?

33

???

They just want attention.

34

Mizuki

No... I just...

35

???

Are we getting the wrong idea?

36

???

Oh, that sounds like a lot to handle...

37

???

Some people believe in the strangest things when they're young.

38

Mizuki

...

39

Mizuki

(Ena... The others...)

40

Mizuki

(They won't reject me...)

41

Mizuki

(I mean, they're all really nice... And they understand the meaning of real pain...)

42

Mizuki

(I know that, but...)

A few days later

Empty SEKAI

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43

Kanade

Alright, since we've agreed on how I should proceed with the demo, let's call things here, shall we...?

44

Ena

Okay.
Oh, my shoulders feel kinda sore today, so I should probably stretch them before I go to bed...

45

Mafuyu

That's a good idea, since it sounds like you haven't been exercising...

46

Ena

Hey, I have been exercising...!
Didn't I tell you that I've been going on walks with Kanade?!

47

Mafuyu

Seldom, not often...

48

Ena

Urgh... Yeah, maybe not that often...!

49

Ena

*Sigh*
Just when I was beginning to think that you've been feeling better lately, you start snapping back at me.

50

Mizuki

Haha!
But I like this banter since it's a nice whiff of what we're used to♪

51

Kanade

Oh, speaking of which...

52

Kanade

Is it just me, or does something smell like one of those food stalls they have at festivals...?

53

Ena

Huh?

54

Miku

Oh, you're right...

55

Mizuki

Hmm... What's this smell? Some kind of sauce?

56

Mizuki

Did one of you bring some food over today?

57

Ena

Umm...

58

Ena

I think it's me...

59

Rin

Ena?

60

Ena

You know how our school's festival is coming up? My class is doing a grilled squid stall, and we've been practicing how to make it in the home ec room recently.

61

Mizuki

Huh...?

62

Kanade

The school festival...
It's already that time of year?

63

Mafuyu

You're going to be participating, Ena...?

64

Ena

Hmm... Yeah, I've been thinking about it.
The events I've been helping out with recently have all been fun, and I heard that Mizuki's class is doing something interesting...

65

Luka

Oh, really?

66

Mizuki

Oh... Y-Yeah!
We're turning our classroom into an escape room!

67

Mizuki

You have to solve a bunch of riddles hidden throughout in order to get out!

68

Len

Oh, that does sound interesting...

69

Ena

See what I mean?
And last year's festival actually seemed pretty fun too, so I figure I could participate this year.

70

Mizuki

Gotcha...

71

Mizuki

(Ena's gonna be there...)

72

Mizuki

(But if she's there...)

73

KAITO

...?

74

KAITO

(Hm? What was that just now...?)

75

MEIKO

...

76

KAITO

(MEIKO...?)

77

Ena

Though, I'm starting to wonder if it's such a good idea.

78

Mizuki

Huh?

79

Ena

I realized today that grilling squid isn't as easy as it sounds. Plus, the smell ruins your clothes.

80

Ena

I'm also working on a bunch of assignments for art class right now, so I don't really have much free time...

81

Ena

So I guess I'm holding off on deciding whether to go until like the day before.

82

Mizuki

Okay...

83

Mizuki

In that case, let me know if you're gonna be there! I wanna try the grilled squid you make...!

84

Ena

Alright, will do.

85

Mizuki

(Ena might come to the festival.)

86

Mizuki

(If she does, she might end up hearing about me...)

87

Mizuki

(But what else is new?)

88

Mizuki

(The possibility's always been there...)

89

Mizuki

(There's even been a part of me that says it'd be just as well... And I've been stuck with it for this long.)

90

Mizuki

(But... But now, I...)

91

Mizuki

(I really don't want things to turn out that way...)

92

Mizuki

(Which means...)

Sound Effect: Play

93

???

So weird...

94

Mizuki

...

95

Mizuki

(If she decides to come...)

96

Mizuki

(Then I'll tell her.)

97

Mizuki

(If she really is coming...
Then I have to tell her before that.)

98

Mizuki

(And if she doesn't come...?)

99

Mizuki

(No, I have to tell her eventually...)

Mizuki

(She needs to hear it from me.)

MEIKO

...

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