*Sigh*

I thought I'd be able to relax a little if I came here...

(But it's not working...
My brain just won't cool it.)

Um, Mizuki...?

Oh, Len!

Is everything okay...?
You don't look very happy...

Oh, um...
Don't worry. I was just thinking about something...

Is that so...?

Luka...

You say you were just thinking about something, but your eyes tell a different story.

Oh...

Were you two watching me this whole time? You could've said hi or something...

S-Sorry...
Luka said we were just going to take a quick peek...

You're no fun, Len. Spilling the beans like that...

I-I'm sorry...

Anyway, Mizuki, what's on your mind?

The same thing as before...

I want to help Mafuyu, but haven't been able to come up with any good ideas...

Is that really all?

Huh?

My guess is that you're not just thinking about Mafuyu, but also yourself.

...!

What made you think that...?

No reason in particular. Just my gut feeling.

To be fair, you're pretty much spot on...

My mind keeps asking me, “Do you, of all people, think you can help Mafuyu?”

What do you mean...?

Finding a solution to all of Mafuyu's problems isn't going to be easy, so I thought I could at least provide a place for her to run...

A place for her to run?

Yeah. I went through a really tough period way back when, but I was able to get through it because I had a place where I could run and feel safe...

So, I thought if Mafuyu also had a place where she could run...

But reminiscing about my past led me to ask myself...

What right do I have trying to help her...?

What...?

Kanade's prepared to keep composing songs for Mafuyu until she saves her...

Ena said she'd wait for as long as she needs to...

And what about you, Mizuki...?

I can't commit like them...

Because all I ever did was run away.

I can't deal with my own problems, and I really don't know how to talk to my friends about stuff that really matters... Even though I really don't want to lose them...

So...

I see...

You're such a coward, Mizuki.

L-Luka...
You don't have to say it like that...

Haha... No, she's right.

I really am a coward...

Yes, you are.
But...

Isn't there something you can do because you're the way you are?

What?

You say that you're not capable of helping her...

But I believe there's something you can do specifically because you ran from everything until now.

...

You say that, but I don't know...

Just look at things from a slightly different perspective.

Right now, whether she likes it or not, Mafuyu has to face her biggest problems all at once...

And you have a first-hand understanding of just how painful this process is going to be, Mizuki.

...

Mizuki...

When you felt you were about to break, what did you do?

How did you protect yourself?

When I was about to break...?

(Back then...)

(When it felt like the real me was gonna disappear forever... That was unbelievably painful...)

(At school, even when I was with my classmates, no one understood... I was all alone...)

(Which is why I wanted to get away from there.)

(Lucky for me, Mom, Dad and Sis showed genuine concern for my well-being...)

(They kept me afloat.)

(I ended up okay because...
I ran and ran and kept running.)

(And then...)

(I met the others.)

(As I made music videos with them, I gradually became more comfortable with expressing how I really feel...)

(I felt that I could just be myself.)

(It was a small glimmer, but I found the light at the end...)

Oh...

...

It's okay to run...

I want to tell her that it's okay to run...

Or shout, “Run!”
“It's okay to run away from this place!”

And that there's a safe place where you can run to...

Thanks, Luka...

Hm? All I did was suggest that you look at things from a slightly different perspective.

(I don't know if this is actually gonna help Mafuyu at all...)

(But...!)