First Feast

Earlier today at the canteen, just before the homeroom class.

"Are we going straight to the plant location, Mitsuko?" Emiko asks as she takes a sip of chocolate milk.

"Yes, please let me know when you're both ready," Mitsuko responds.
"I don’t think I will be joining you. I lost interest in the plant." Hideki brushes them off.

"What? You can't tell that now Hideki-kun you promised to go with us," Mitsuko is getting upset.

"I have changed my mind. Besides I have got something else to do," he responds coldly and leaves the girls on their own.

"What has gotten into him? Do you by any chance know Emiko?" Mitsuko asks.
"It's not as if I know him inside out." Emiko replies indifferently.
But compared to me, you are much closer to him. How close are you to him in reality?" As Mitsuko inquires, her pupils enlarge.
"We are merely childhood friends. Nothing more," Emiko responds.

"That statement would certainly hurt his feelings," Mitsuko remarks and then she finishes her strawberry milkshake.

"What do you mean by that?" Emiko wonders.
"He has a thing for you. The fact that he is constantly attempting to catch your attention makes it clear." Mitsuko says.
"Plus, he doesn't seem to like me very much," Mitsuko adds.
"I don't believe he is into me," Emiko declares.
"Are you sure?" Mitsuko asks.
"Well, I don't know for sure, but I didn't get the impression." Emiko responds putting an empty drink carton on the table.

"You must persuade him to accompany us and protect us if anything dangerous happens," Mitsuko urges.

"Alright. I will try," Emiko responds to her briefly since she is getting a little tired of this conversation and she then immediately sets out to locate Hideki.

In front of their classroom, Hideki is leaning against the wall with headphones in his ears and waiting for the lesson to start. Then, when Emiko draws nearer, he notices her but pretends not to see her while continuing to listen to the music.

Emiko takes out one of his earbuds out, glances at him, and speaks into his ear, "Hideki, I know you must be bored of it, but could you please come with us today?"
"I'm not sure about that. Mitsuko is a little too bossy. That bothers me. What do I get in return?" He queries.

"I don't know. We are friends, we are supposed to help each other." Emiko reacts by squeezing her lips together.

"Listen, Emiko, it's been a long time since we both genuinely appreciated our friendship." Hideki remarks as he lowers his head.
"What do you mean by that?" Emiko asks in wonder.
"Since you've been hanging out with Mitsuko, I'm simply something as your errand boy," Hideki says with his eyes filled with melancholy.

"Are you by any means, jealous of her?" Emiko asks, recalling what Mitsuko has previously told her.

"No. But I'd prefer it to be the way it was before. That we hang out, just the two of us. Talk about anything and laugh at our own jokes. Without Mitsuko always having to be there." Hideki says.

"That makes sense. But if she finds out, she'll be very jealous of you." Emiko rubs her cheek.
"Well, if you swear not to tell her it's okay. We can spend more time alone. I promise. Are you willing to help us now?" Emiko says, chuckling.
"I will assist you. Simply put, I was having a bad day." Hideki explains.

The three of them are presently meeting on the schoolyard. They choose not to attend homeroom since they know the teacher will criticize them for skipping classes. Also, they don't want any unnecessary questions regarding their resignation from the club. They head directly for the woods.

As she walks up to the plant, Mitsuko says, "Woah, I can't believe it is still so tightly tied down."
"Stay away from it. It may devour you." Hideki teases her.

"You are aware that it is impossible. Check out how nicely it is restrained. Let's play around with it a little bit." Mitsuko says while smirking. Then she picks a branch from a tree and stabs it into the monster plant. It squeaks.

"I agree with Hideki, you should keep your distance from it. Mitsuko this is no joke." Emiko is being serious.
"You think this thing could seriously eat us? Look at how pitiful it appears." Mitsuko exclaims.

Finally, she makes the decision to face the plant by turning around. She is startled when she all of the sudden catches a glimpse of its teeth. She begins to dance while shifting her weight from one leg to the other and shouts, "Eat me eat me, you can't lol," in an attempt to hide the fact that she has became scared in front of Emiko and Hideki.

When her leg unexpectedly comes to a stop on the chain rather than the ground, she lost her balance. She is so preoccupied with having fun and hiding her dread that she fails to see anything. The more she jumps, the more she pulls the chain from the ground. Hideki sees the issue and yells at her, "Stop moving right now, or you'll accidently liberate it,"

Emiko dashes toward the plant and attempts to stop her. She pulls her by grabbing her hand. Mitsuko does not want to be grabbed right now and resists. When Emiko realizes how terrible the situation is, she forcefully pulls her as hard as she can, causing her to collapse to the ground. Sadly, Mitsuko's leg becomes entangled in the chain, and the movement caused the chain to come loose from the ground. The plant is finally free.

Mitsuko is still being pulled by Emiko, but the infuriated flower expands its petals to reveal its heart. There is vortex-like force that appears to drag Mitsuko inside, into the centre of the flower. Hideki runs towards them, taking Emiko with him. Mitsuko is sucked inside before they can even see her. When the plant closes its petals, all of its teeth were covered in red blood.