Same Dreams, Same Colors - 7: I Can Do It Because I'm Me

Forest

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1

Toya

So this is what a forest is like...

2

An

How is it seeing the real thing?

3

Toya

Well...

4

Toya

I think I have a better idea of what Azusawa meant by “clarity”.

5

Toya

Hearing all the birds chirping, the babbling brook and the wind as it breezes by...

6

Toya

It's very... Soothing.

7

Toya

Yes, if I sing that one section with this in mind...

8

Toya

♪——————...

9

Toya

It'd sound something like that...

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10

Kohane

Oh wow...!
That's exactly what I was talking about, Aoyagi!

11

Toya

It was?
That's wonderful.

12

Akito

You figured it out already...?

13

An

Yeah, don't just leave us behind.

14

Toya

Still, this is really nice.
All the leaves and grass are still very green despite being winter.

15

An

That's true.
By the way, this one here's edible...

16

Kohane

Wait, really?

17

An

Yeah, these are called “sunroots”. They're pretty good too. You can cook them by boiling or frying them up.

18

Kohane

That's so interesting...!
You're like a walking encyclopedia, An.

19

Akito

It's not gonna make us sick or anything, right?

20

An

They're edible. Honest!
Oh, I think I see some more over there. Why don't we pick a few while we're here?

21

Kohane

Sure, I'll help.

22

Toya

I'd like to as well.

23

Akito

*Sigh*
Okay, fine...

24

An

Wow, we got a bunch...!

25

Akito

That's great, but are you sure we can get through all of these?

26

An

We'll be fine!
Between the four of us and our campfire, this should be just enough.

27

An

Anyway, let's start heading back.
Let's see... We came from that way, right?

28

Akito

Hey, you don't have to make wild guesses. We have the GPS on our phones to... Hm?

29

Akito

No service...?

30

Kohane

What?

31

Akito

Seriously?
I had a signal just a second ago.

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32

Kohane

M-Me too! It wasn't strong, but it definitely seemed like we were still in range. What happened...?

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33

Kohane

Oh no! The GPS stopped working...!

34

An

What?! N-No! Why?!

35

Toya

Could it be the weather...?

36

Toya

I have no way of confirming this, but I've heard before that the weather can affect how cellular signals behave.

37

An

Yeah, you might be right!
Everything's starting to fog or mist up!

38

Kohane

Wh-What do we do...?!

39

Akito

Just calm down.
Panicking is the worst thing we can do right now.

40

Akito

First, we need to figure out where we are...

41

Toya

Oh, I have a pocket map...!
I made sure to pack one just in case.

42

An

Really?! You're the best, Toya!

43

Toya

But this may not be enough to tell us where we are...

44

Toya

We may be able to figure out where and in which direction our campsite is, but I apologize for not bringing a compass. For that, I apologize...

45

Kohane

No, having a map should help us out a lot!

46

Toya

Based on what I've read, you're supposed to retrace your steps by looking for trail markers or anything that seems familiar... What do you think, Akito?

47

Akito

Right... We might be able to find somewhere that looks familiar.

48

Akito

Alright, let's head back a little and see if anything jogs our memories.

49

An & Kohane

Okay!

50

Kohane

Oh no... It's starting to get really dark...

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51

Akito

This is bad...
We won't be able to see anything once it's pitch black.

52

Akito

We'll be completely lost at that point.

53

An

Nooo...!

54

An

Okay, breathe...
Just calm down!

55

Kohane

Does this mean we have to sleep outside...?

56

An

The cold's gonna really get us if we do. We may be wearing cold-weather gear, but getting through the night won't be easy.

57

Akito

A fire would help...
But I think we left the matches back at our site.

58

Kohane

Yeah... Also, this fog is going to make it hard to find any dry branches.

59

An

No...

60

Toya

...

61

Toya

(Isn't there anything we can do...?)

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62

Luka

<I believe everyone possesses some sort of “unique talent”.>

63

Toya

(What can I do right now...?)

64

An

Oh...
Guys, look up!

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65

Kohane

Oh, all those stars...!

66

Akito

Whoa... The whole sky's lit up.

67

Toya

So many... This is incredible...

68

Toya

They're beautiful...

69

Kohane

If only we hadn't gotten lost...
We would've been able to enjoy them more...

70

An

But we don't have a choice right now.
Let's just keep trying whatever we can, Kohane.

71

Kohane

Right...

72

Toya

...
Hm...?

73

Toya

(Wait, we can see stars...!)

74

Akito

Hm? What's up?

75

Toya

(I don't see it... How can that be?)

76

Toya

(Oh, right, it's winter and the trees must be in the way... That means I just have to...!)

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77

Kohane

A-Aoyagi?!

78

An

T-Toya, what's gotten into you?!
Why are you climbing that tree?!

79

Toya

Sorry, I just need to check on something!

80

Akito

By climbing up a tree?!

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81

Toya

Ow...!

82

Toya

(My fingers... This bark's so prickly...!)

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83

Toya

(On top of that, I can't get a good footing. There's so much dew from that mist...)

84

Toya

(Climbing a tree is harder than I expected...)

85

Toya

(I've done so little with my life...)

86

Toya

(But that doesn't matter right now!
I just need to focus on climbing!)

87

Toya

Ow...!

88

Toya

I should be able to see it now...!

89

Toya

There you are, Cassiopeia.

90

Toya

Draw two lines through those five stars, bisect those by drawing a line through the star in the middle, stretch it out to five times its length and...

91

Toya

There it is! The north star!

92

An

What?

93

Kohane

Oh, he's right...!
If we know where the north star is, we should be able to find our way back!

94

Toya

If we apply this information to our map, we should be able to find our campsite.

95

An

Th-Thank goodness...!
Thank you so much, Toya!

96

Akito

That was pretty cool...
Nice one, Toya.

97

Akito

But one question...
Is it okay for you to be up that high?

98

Toya

Why...?

99

Akito

Aren't you afraid of heights?

Toya

...

Kohane

Oh no...!
Aoyagi froze up!!

An

Wh-What did you do that for, Akito...?!

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Akito

Huh? Why are you blaming me?!

Toya

I... I should be fine...
I managed to climb up... So I should be able to get back down... Right...?

Kohane

Y-You can do it, Aoyagi...!

An

H-Hang in there, Toya!

Akito

Get it together, Toya!
We're all heading back together!

Toya

I'll be fine... I... I can get down...

Next Chapter: Seeing It Together