Mafuyu's Room

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1

Mafuyu

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(This isn't good...)
2

Mafuyu

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(Lately, my head...
Has been feeling so heavy. I'm struggling to fall asleep...)
3

Mafuyu

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(It's 25:00...)
4

Mafuyu

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(The others are probably working right now...)
5

Mafuyu

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(Since I can't sleep, I can work on my lyrics on my phone...)
6

Mafuyu

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(Oh, I left it on my desk...
I need to go get it...)

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7

Mafuyu

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(It's too dark. I can't see...
Where's my phone...?)

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8

Mafuyu

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(Oh, my phone...)

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9

Mafuyu

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...!
10

Mafuyu

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(That sound... Mom...?)

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11

Mafuyu's Mother

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Mafuyu...?
12

Mafuyu's Mother

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...
13

Mafuyu's Mother

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Was that my imagination...?

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14

Mafuyu

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...
15

Mafuyu

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(She worried about me, right...?)

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Mafuyu

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(Mom's just looking out for...)

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17

Ena

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<She threw away something that meant a lot to you, right?>
18

Ena

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<That's like her saying your real thoughts and feelings belong in the trash! Am I wrong...?!>
19

Ena

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<You need to show her that you're mad...
Because if you don't, she's gonna smash you to pieces!>
20

Mafuyu

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(No...)
21

Mafuyu

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(Mom... She just...!)

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22

Mafuyu

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(Huh? A message...?)

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23

Mafuyu

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Mizuki...?
24

Mizuki's Message

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<Sorry, I know it's late.
But I wanna talk to you about something.>
25

Mizuki's Message

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<Can you meet with me sometime soon?
I'm hoping that we can talk in person.>
26

Mafuyu

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(In person...?)
27

Mafuyu

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(But I have club activities when I don't have cram school. And on the days when I do have to go to cram school...)
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Mizuki's Message

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<We can meet whenever you're free by the way! Still, I do sorta want to see you sooner rather than later...>
29

Mizuki's Message

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<There's something I need to tell you.>
30

Mafuyu

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...
31

Mizuki

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She still hasn't replied...

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32

Mizuki

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Uh oh... What if her phone got taken away...?

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33

Mizuki

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Oh, she responded!
34

Mafuyu's Message

<I can meet tomorrow after school.>
35

Mizuki

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...!
Awesome!
36

Mizuki

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<Thanks, Yuki!
Then, I'll meet you out in front of the station!>

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37

Mizuki

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All set...!
The next day
After school

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38

Mizuki

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(It's almost time...)
39

Mizuki

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Oh!
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Mizuki

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Mafuyu! Over here!

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41

Mafuyu

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Mizuki...
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Mizuki

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Thanks for agreeing to meet with me today! So, how much time do you have to spare...?
43

Mafuyu

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Until cram school ends, so I'd say until nine...
44

Mizuki

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Wait, until cram school ends...?
Does that mean you're skipping?
45

Mizuki

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Are you sure about that?
What if your mom finds out...?
46

Mafuyu

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It's okay. They don't call home or anything whenever I'm not there...
47

Mafuyu

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But...
48

Mizuki

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But?
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Mafuyu

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I randomly ran into my dad the other day...
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Mafuyu

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So, I'm a little worried that he might find out...
51

Mizuki

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Okay...
52

Mizuki

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Then, let's move somewhere else before we talk.
53

Mafuyu

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Thank you...
54

Mizuki

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No problem!
There's actually somewhere I've been planning to check out!
55

Mafuyu

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Huh...?
SpoJoy Park

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56

Mizuki

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Alright, here we are!
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Mafuyu

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Wait, this is...
58

Mizuki

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SpoJoy Park!
Remember? It's where Kanade and Ena went that other time! I've been wanting to go ever since!
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Mizuki

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So, Mafuyu, what do you wanna do first?!
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Mafuyu

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What do I want to do...?
I thought we were going to talk today...
61

Mizuki

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Yeah, but you've been studying nonstop lately. It's important to take breaks from time to time, right?
62

Mizuki

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Plus, Kanade and the others said they had a lot of fun! I'm sure we'll feel refreshed after we move our bodies around a little!
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Mizuki

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Oh, Mafuyu, do you know how to rollerblade?
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Mafuyu

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I roller skated some when I was little...
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Mizuki

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Great!
Then, we can try it together!

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66

Mizuki

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Whoa, Mafuyu!
You're really good!
67

Mafuyu

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I am...?
Rolling forward doesn't seem all that difficult...
68

Mizuki

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Hahaha!
Kanade would probably feel awful if you told her that!
69

Mizuki

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Anyway, since you seem fine, let's have a race! The last one to that side has to buy the winner a drink!
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Mafuyu

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But I'm not thirsty.
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Mizuki

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What?! No, wait!
That means you think you're gonna win, right?!
72

Mizuki

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But I'm no slouch!
So, ready... Go!

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73

Mizuki

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Whoa, nice! That's three panels back to back! Why are you so good at this...?!
74

Mafuyu

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It may be because we played softball during P.E. the other day...
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Mafuyu

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You can have the drink I won since you won during our race...
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Mizuki

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Wait, are you sure?
I mean, I feel pretty bad about jumping the gun back there...
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Mafuyu

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I'd rather you have it since it'll actually taste good to you.
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Mafuyu

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Anyway, about what you wanted to talk to me...
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Mizuki

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Yeah...
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Mizuki

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But are you sure you don't wanna keep doing more stuff?
81

Mafuyu

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...?
I thought you asked to meet with me because...
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Mizuki

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That can wait!
Just bear with me for a bit longer!
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Mizuki

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So, let's head to the mall!!

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84

Mizuki

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Whew! That was so much fun!
And I got in some good shopping♪
85

Mafuyu

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Did you really need to take that long to pick out a single outfit...?
86

Mizuki

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Absolutely!
I worked hard for this money, so what I buy's gotta be the cutest thing in the world!
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Mizuki

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Because I've regretted not getting certain clothes and stuff in another color before, you know...?! So much so that I wanna go back in time and stop myself from buying those things!
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Mafuyu

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Really?
89

Mizuki

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Anyway, do you feel a little better...?
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Mafuyu

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What...?
91

Mizuki

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I ask because you seem more relaxed now.
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Mafuyu

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I do...?
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Mafuyu

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Actually, I might be feeling a little better...
94

Mizuki

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Haha! That's good to hear!
95

Mizuki

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Whenever it feels like the walls are closing in on you, taking your mind off things by doing something else can help, right?

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Mizuki

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In those situations, I always ran towards the things that felt safe and allowed me to relax.
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Mizuki

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It's why I felt that you also needed something or somewhere you could run to, Mafuyu.
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Mafuyu

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Oh...
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Mafuyu

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Is this what you wanted to...?
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Mizuki

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Hehe. Sorry...
I thought it'd be best to just do it.
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Mizuki

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It's a little different from what you're going through, but the truth is, I also went through a period where I wasn't really allowed to be myself...
102

Mafuyu

...
103

Mizuki

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A lot of things happened while I was in junior high that led to me becoming the subject of everyone's ridicule. I constantly got all these weird looks...
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Mizuki

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As rough as that was, watching anime and making videos helped me get through it...
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Mafuyu

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But that probably didn't...
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Mizuki

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I know. It didn't actually solve anything.
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Mizuki

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I went about it pretty aimlessly, and going to school eventually became too much for me. Even the one person I could talk to ended up graduating...
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Mizuki

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That made things unbearable.
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Mafuyu

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...
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Mizuki

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So, I ran from school.
I stopped going.
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Mizuki

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At home, I felt safe...
But I still knew deep down that I was running from my problems, which weighed on me a lot...
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Mizuki

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However...
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Mizuki

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I'm standing here today because I gave myself that time...
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Mafuyu

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Because you gave yourself that time...?
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Mizuki

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The thing is, Mafuyu...
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Mizuki

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I believe that taking on whatever life throws at you takes a lot of energy.

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117

Mizuki

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At the same time, if you can't get away from your problems, they'll just sap away all of your energy until there's nothing left.
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Mizuki

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You know what I mean, right?
After suffering through so much pain for so long, you just sorta lose the will to go on...
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Mafuyu

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...
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Mizuki

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Which is why I believe in order for that not to happen... And to survive...
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Mizuki

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It's necessary to have a place where you can run to whenever you need it.
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Mizuki

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Obviously, I'm not saying running is the best option since it doesn't actually help solve anything. And it only provides short-term relief...
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Mizuki

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But I believe that it's okay to run when you're faced with an unbearable amount of pain and suffering that's going to take your life force away.
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Mizuki

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So...
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Mizuki

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When you think you've reached your limit, I say run. Get out while you can.
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Mizuki

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For your own sake, Mafuyu. You. No one else.
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Mafuyu

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...
Next Chapter: In Spite Of Fear