— LET'S GOOOOOO!!!
And they went.
Just like that.
NO ONE thought.NO ONE planned.NO ONE even breathed properly.
They just ran.Straight ahead.Full speed.
With the kind of energy you get after surviving a fall and deciding that clearly wasn't enough.
The lake?Right there.In front of them.
— WHY ISN'T IT GETTING ANY CLOSER?! — Yuu yelled, already out of breath.— IT'S RUNNING AWAY FROM US!! — Mei shot back, sprinting with the float bouncing everywhere.
And in the middle of all that—the boys started freeing themselves.
Literally.
— FORGET THIS — Sora tossed a chair to the ground without even looking.— WE'LL GET IT LATER — Ren dropped a bag.— I DON'T NEED THIS — Kenta let go of… something no one even knew he had.
— HEY— THE STUFF— — Aiko tried.
No one listened.
Because the ONLY priority now was:WATER.
Sora, mid-run, reached—
— HA!!
WATER GUN.
— I KNEW I'D NEED THIS!!!
— THAT'S MINE!! — Kenta immediately started searching in panic.
— Here — Ren just tossed one to him without even slowing down.
— MINE TOO?! — Yuu, gasping.
Ren turned.Ran BACK for no reason.
— Here.
Handed it over.Ran forward again.
Like nothing happened.
Meanwhile, Takeru was already inspecting his.
— …how does this work?
Pressed it.Nothing.
Pressed again.
PSSHHH
— …okay.
Small smile.Incoming danger.
ALL OF THIS WHILE RUNNING.
Meanwhile—
the girls STOPPED.
— …we are NOT doing that — Aiko said, taking a deep breath.
Silence.
They looked at each other.Looked at the ground.Looked at the path.
— They dropped EVERYTHING — Hina observed.— …they dropped EVERYTHING — Mei repeated.
The three of them looked at each other.
Sighed.
— Fine.
Secondary mission unlocked:RECOVER THE GROUP'S DIGNITY.
Hina started picking up bags.Mei found a ball.
— YES!!
— Is this the volleyball?— It is!
(It wasn't.)
It was a soccer ball.
But the confidence was ABSOLUTE.
Aiko, on the other hand…was holding a watermelon.
— …this is not a ball.
Silence.
— …WAS THIS SUPPOSED TO BE A BALL?! — Mei— I THOUGHT IT WAS A WATERMELON BALL — Hina— THIS IS A WATERMELON — Aiko
Five minutes ago:sports.
Now:lunch.
— I'll cut it.
And off she went.Determined.
Meanwhile—
AT THE LAKE.
Finally.
THE BOYS ARRIVED.
— WATER!!!— WATER!!!— WATER!!!
And before any logic could kick in—
WAR.
— TAKE THIS!!— HEY!!— GOT YOU!!— THAT DOESN'T COUNT!!
Water flying everywhere.Shouting.Laughing.Chaos.
Until—
Sora looked.Thought.Smiled.
And—
YANKED Takeru's leg with ALL his strength.
Takeru fell.
FLAT.
Into the water.
PLOFT
Silence.
— … SORA!!!!
Sora grinned.
— …uh oh…!
Takeru stood up.Soaked.Slow.Dangerous.
— …I'm going to drown you.
— COME TRY!!
And off they went.
Running through the water.Trying to kill each other (playfully).
Meanwhile—
Yuu.
At the edge.
— …I can do this…
blowing air.
— …I can do this…
more blowing.
The flamingo float:still empty.
Him:no lungs left.
— …I'm going to die before I even get in the water…
Ren and Kenta?
Zero empathy.
— TAKE THIS — PSSHHH— HEY!!— PSSHHH— STOP!!
WATER.GUNS.
After a while—
— BOOOOYS!! — Aiko shouted.
Everyone turned.
Watermelon.
CUT.
GLOWING.
Savior.
— …I love this group — Kenta said.
And then—
THEY DEVOUR IT.
No dignity.No pauses.No talking.
— IS THERE MORE?— NO.— THAT'S IT?— THAT'S IT.
Silence.Breathing.Satisfaction.
And then—
Mei stood up.
Eyes shining.
— Guys.
Danger.
— I think there's a little trail over there…
Everyone looked.
— …that leads to another part of the lake!
Silence.
Two seconds.Three.
— GREAT IDEA MEI!! — Sora— YEAHHH!! — Kenta— LET'S GO!! — Yuu (no lungs, still excited)— Let's bring the fishing stuff — Takeru already getting up— AND THE BALLS — Kenta— AND THE TOWELS — Hina— AND EVERYTHING — Aiko
Mistake.
Historic mistake.
They barely finished swallowing the watermelon—
and they were already moving.
— TO THE TRAIL!!
Max energy.Happiness.Hope.
And then…
they stopped.
— …huh — Mei
It was an uphill climb.
Small.But evil.
No sign.No clear path.No dignity.
— …this doesn't look like a trail — Ren— IT DOES TOO — Sora, already climbing
Slipped.Fell.Slid back down.
— …okay, maybe not.
Yuu tried to help.Tripped over Sora.Fell with him.
— OW!!— SORRY!!
Kenta laughed.Confident.
— Leave it to me.
Spread his legs.Jumped.
Perfect split.
Silence.
— …I can't get up.
Silence.
Explosion of laughter.
— HAHAHAHAHAHAHA— KENTA!!!— HELP ME!!!
No one helped.
For a few seconds.
Hina, crying from laughing, tried.
— I—I— wait— Kenta you're heavy!!— I KNOW!!!
Ren took a deep breath.
— Alright.
Climbed up.
No drama.No falling.No humiliation.
— I'll pull you up.
And he did.
One by one.
The boys.
With difficulty.
Because:
hands full.
— HOLD THE ROD!!— I AM!!— THE BAG!!— THE OTHER ONE!!
Everything almost fell.Three times.
They survived.
Miracle.
And then—
the girls.
Ren just:
grabbed them by the waist.
Light.Easy.
Up they went.
No chaos.
Unfair.
And there they were.
At the top.
Breathing.Sweaty.Wet.Confused.
Looking ahead.
A trail?
Maybe.
A path?
Questionable.
A bad decision?
Absolutely.
— …ready? — Mei
— LET'S GO — everyone
And just like that…
no map, no sense, no supervision,eight kids walked into a trailthat probablydidn't even EXIST
in search of"another part of the lake."
What could possibly go wrong?
(Answer: absolutely everything.)