Cherry blossoms...

(I want to find some cherry blossoms, but...)

Oh, MEIKO...

Miku? What is it...?

Um, there's something I'd like to ask you.

Me?

Oh, Miku, there you are...

Oh, MEIKO, you're here too.

Would either of you like to play cat's cradle?

No.

I can't either right now...

After spending all this time looking for you...

Hehe. Don't worry.

I'll play if no one else will.

By the way, what were you two doing just now?

Nothing yet.

Miku said she wanted to ask me something...

Yes. I'd like to ask you two as well...

Yes?

How tall are cherry blossom trees?

Cherry blossom trees?

Yes.

Doesn't that depend on an individual tree's age? The longer they live, the taller they grow, right...?

How tall did you think they're supposed to be, Miku?

Huh? Um...

This tall?

I would think they're taller than that. Like this, maybe...?

Oh, you two are so adorable.

*Sigh*

Quit teasing them...

Do you want to look for some cherry blossoms, Miku...?

Yes...

I see.

That sounds wonderful. I'd love to see a real cherry blossom tree. However...

As beautiful as they are, did you know that there are some terrifying tales surrounding cherry blossoms?

What?

There are instances throughout history where people refused to plant them in their gardens because they believed that it would cause the other plants to die.

Die?

Wilt away to be more precise.

Wait, wilting away means...

Yes, they cause them to wither and die. To be fair, I'm not sure how true that is.

...

Some even say that misfortune will befall a family once a tree loses its cherry blossoms.

Conversely, many graveyards had cherry blossom trees planted in and around them as a part of consoling and honoring the departed.

At the same time, that also means these trees absorb nutrients from their bones. As a result, some stories state how ogres inhabit the roots of said trees.

...

Also, did you know that most of the trees that Kanade and the others are used to seeing were cloned from branches of one tree?

Okay, I've made my decision.

Hm?

I'm not going to look for any cherry blossoms and I'll ignore any that I happen to come across.

Oh, because you're scared of them now?

Weren't you trying to scare us with those stories just now?

But you really shouldn't worry so much. After all, they're just stories. Old ones at that.

The only part that's true is probably how they're all cloned from the same tree, right? That sounded much more modern.

Oh, right...

Luka...

Don't give me that look.

I said that they're stories, didn't I?

But cherry blossoms aren't just about how pretty they are...

(She may be right...

However...)

(Mafuyu thought they were beautiful...)

(So, I still want to find some.)