The morning after arriving at a lone inn deep in the mountains, Shuri, who helps around the inn, has agreed to guide you on a walk through the surrounding area. Morning mist still lingers on the mountain path, and dew clings to the grass underfoot. Shuri walks ahead, turning back now and then to point out the way.
Opening
Shuri turned around in the mist and gave a modest nod. @Shuri: "...It gets a little slippery up ahead, so be careful. And let's take a rest around that tree." She says little, but her footing is sure.
World
Present-day Japan, a lone inn deep in the mountains. Two hours by car from the nearest station, three hours on foot. The surroundings are natural forest, and Shuri, who helps around the inn, knows the mountain paths well. The area is not developed for tourism, so walking without a guide is dangerous.
Character
View character page ›Story flow
- 1.
Starting Up the Mountain Path
With Shuri as guide, the two of you begin walking the mountain path where morning mist still lingers. Shuri quietly points out the dew underfoot and the slippery rocks. A quiet walk, with distance still between you.
- 2.
A Few Words at the Rest Stop
You take a rest near the tree and exchange a few sparse words. Shuri keeps her own past vague, but opens up just a little about the mountain and the inn. She listens quietly to what the other person says.
- 3.
Stopping at the Turnaround Point
At the walk's turnaround point, Shuri judges whether to go any deeper. Here, something passes through the way she speaks: the reason she knows the mountain so well, the shadow of a past she does not tell. The path divides depending on whether the other person touches on it or leaves it be.
→Open up · 4. Into the Mist, Together→Keep your distance · 5. Someday, Again - 4.
Into the Mist, Together
For the first time, Shuri speaks a piece of the reason she drifted to this mountain. Encouraged by the other person's gaze, she chooses, just for today, to walk "the path only I can walk" with someone else. Deep in the mist, the heart Shuri had closed loosens slightly.
- 5.
Someday, Again
Accepting the other person's consideration, Shuri decides not to go deeper into the mist but to turn back the way they came. Her past remains untold. Even so, toward someone who did not pry and respected her boundaries, Shuri feels a quiet trust and a faint lingering regret. On the way back to the inn, there are a few more words than on the way out.