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Weirdly enough, the first person Toya sees when he arrives at the Shinonome household is Akiyama.
“Oh, are you spending time with Ena?” Toya asks.
“Nah, just picking her up before we head to this cafe,” they reply.
“Too bad, I was thinking we could all watch a movie together,” Toya says. “I finally got ahold of this old anime Akito’s been excited about so—”
“Oi! Ena! Did you take one of my CDs?” Akito’s voice rings out from the second floor. Mrs. Shinonome comes into the front area.
“Oh, hello Toya!” she says.
“Borrowed it!” Ena yells back.
“What? Why?”
“Kanade wanted to listen to it so I lent it to her.”
“THE HELL?!”
“What, were you going to listen to that one specifically?”
“That’s not the point!”
“She’s gonna give it back!”
“Um, Mrs. Shinonome?” Mizuki asks, over the sound of the two of them yelling at each other. “Should we be worried?”
“Oh no, it’s fine,” Mrs. Shinonome says. “It’s only a problem if the screaming stops suddenly.”
“DON’T JUST BARGE INTO MY ROOM!” Ena shouts.
“DON’T FUCKING STEAL MY CDS!”
“DON’T STEAL MY CHEESECAKE FIRST THEN!”
“ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?!”
Mrs. Shinonome checks her watch, then goes into the side den and pulls Mr. Shinonome out of the room.
“Sorry, I was about to finish I just—”
“Uh-huh, come on, we’re going to be late,” Mrs. Shinonome says. “Not that they’ll need it, but the first aid kit is in the bathroom and tell Akito and Ena if they need to use it for something that isn’t an emergency I’m taking their allowance for the month.”
“Ok,” Toya says, and then they leave.
“Wow, she’s pretty lax,” Mizuki says.
Toya shrugs. “It’s better than having parents who micromanage your time.”
“Yeah, I can see that,” Mizuki says.
Akito and Ena are still screaming at each other.
“Should we do something?” Toya asks.
“Ena took one of his CDs, do you want to be in the middle of his warpath?” Mizuki says.
“Fair point.”
There’s the sound of something slamming, and then it goes quiet.
“Shit,” Mizuki says. The two of them rush up to Ena’s room, but neither she nor Akito are there.
~
“This is all your fault,” Ena says as they wander around the woods they suddenly found themselves in. “You had to smack my keyboard…”
“You’re the one who had the weird ‘Untitled’ on your computer and didn’t notice,” Akito grumbles.
They’d both immediately tried to use their own phones, but they weren’t working. They couldn’t get out of this SEKAI, so Ena had suggested they find a Virtual Singer.
“How much further? I’m tired,” Ena says.
“That’s what happens when you’re cooped up inside all day.”
“You’re the one who’s a muscle-headed freak.”
“You don’t complain when you need me to carry things for you.”
“I’m a delicate lady!”
Akito snorts. “Yeah, sure.”
“Oh come on, I—”
Suddenly, the trees break and there’s a house made of candy in a clearing.
Akito’s stomach immediately growls.
“Do not eat the Witch’s house,” Ena says.
“I know that, Mom read us the stories together.”
They go and approach the house, and Rin pops out. Or at least, a Rin. She’s wearing a very simple blue skirt and white shirt.
“Oh, hello!” Rin says. “Welcome to the Storybook SEKAI!”
“Rin, great,” Ena says.
“Rin? Gretel doesn’t know anyone like that,”
“I guess in a fairytale, they’re playing roles,” Akito says. “Well Gretel-chan, can you send us home?”
“Hansel knows the way out,” Gretel says, “but Gretel doesn't know where he is.”
Akito pulls Ena aside. “What are you thinking?”
“Hansel’s probably Len, and he knowing the way out of here does mean the SEKAI, or we bump into the Miku or MEIKO here and they get us out,” Ena says.
“Me too.”
They turn back to Gretel.
“Sure, we’ll help you!” Akito says smiling.
“Thank you so much! Hansel and Gretel were looking for some apples for dinner, but had a fight over what was the right way to go. He said the apple grove would be where the animals are going, and Gretel said all the animals would be going away from the grove since they already ate.”
“You could look and see if the animals had eaten,” Ena says. “Plus not all of them have to be eating apples.”
“Ena,” Akito says through his forced smile. “It’s a fairytale, don’t try to logic it out.”
“Whatever, so if Hansel was following the animals we’ve got to just, what, find a squirrel or something and follow it?”
“Oh, there! A Rabbit!” Gretel says, pointing and chasing after it.
“Do wild rabbits even eat apples? They’d have to be rotten if they’re on the ground,” Ena mutters.
“ Fairytale .”
“I’m just saying!”
They follow Gretel and the rabbit into the thicket.
“So, Gretel-chan,” Ena asks after about ten minutes of walking. “Can you tell us about this place?”
“It’s the Enchanted Woods! All sorts of wondrous things happen here if you know how to find them!”
“Uh, right,” Ena says. “Do you know who we are?”
“...Oh goodness me! How rude, Gretel never asked your names!” Gretel says.
“I’m Akito, this is my sister, Ena,” Akito says.
“Oh, you’re just like Hansel and Gretel!” Gretel says.
“Yes we are, we’re trying to find out way home too,” Akito says.
“Weird,” Ena whispers, “if this was a SEKAI tied to one of us, she should already know who we are.”
“Maybe we ended up in someone else’s SEKAI?” Akito suggests.
“How’d that end up on my computer?”
“Gretel-chan!” Akito asks, “are you and your friends waiting for anyone?”
“Hansel is waiting for Gretel and Gretel is waiting for Hansel!”
“Yes but anyone else, whoever made this place,” Ena says.
“Oh, there’s an owl!” Gretel says, running away.
“Ok, weird SEKAI, got it,” Akito mutters. “This isn't even like a Fragment of Feeling, it’s just weird.”
“Yeah, but it’s gotta be somewhat like the SEKAI we know,” Ena says. “You know, beyond just Len and Rin.”
It seems like the thick underbrush of the forest is getting denser as they go, and Ena manages to trip.
Akito laughs. “Come on, watch your step.”
“Something grabbed me!” Ena says.
They both look at her feet but don’t see anything but roots.
“Maybe you just got stuck here with bad shoes for this.”
“Ugh, I hate this place. If I knew we were going to get stuck here, I would have worn sneakers.”
“You should help her up!” Gretel says to Akito, appearing out of nowhere.
“Why? She’s got it.”
“Yeah, I don’t want to touch his gross, sweaty hands.”
“She gets jealous when she has to be reminded I have better cuticles than her.”
Ena gets up and brushes herself off. “You wish.”
They continue after the owl, but notice that Gretel isn’t with them.
“Gretel, what’s wrong?” Akito asks.
“You shouldn’t fight,” Gretel says softly. “Fighting’s bad.”
Ena rolls her eyes. “That wasn’t really a fight.”
“Yeah, if you want a fight you should have heard us before this,” Akito says, continuing along. “Because someone was a dirty thief,”
“Kanade is going to give it back! You have thousands of CDs you can miss one for a week.”
“You have thousands of hair accessories!”
“I wear those!”
“I listen to my CDs!”
“And you’re getting this one back!”
“I told—” Akito stops, spotting something rustling. A large dog jumps out of the bushes and growls at Akito. “Gah!” He trips over backwards. “G-go away!”
“Ena!” Gretel hisses. “Throw a stick and get its attention!”
“W-wha, me?” Ena says, stepping back from the dog. “No way. Akito! Distract it with a stick.”
Akito creeps away from the dog, whose eyes are locked on him. He grabs a nearby a stick and throws it feebly, but it just lands in front of the dog.”
“Seriously? That’s the best you can do?”
“Shut up! I just threw it wrong!” Akito snaps, furiously looking for another stick. This one he puts a spin on and it sails far into the underbrush, and the dog follows.
“Ok, getting very far away before it can find us again,” Akito says, grabbing both Ena and Gretel’s hands and leading them away.
“Why didn’t you help him?” Gretel asks Ena. “Hansel and Gretel are always supposed to help each other.”
“I told him what you said,” Ena says, face flushed. “N-no way am I getting near a dog like that though.”
“E-Ena couldn’t throw a stick anyway,” Akito says. “She probably would have hit it in the face and then I would have had to save her.”
“At least my stick would have gone farther than yours! And slow down, you're pulling way too hard.”
Akito lets go of the two of them, and they continue onward. Finally, they find an apple orchard.
“Oh, good, we made it,” Ena says. She looks around, there’s no sign of Len anywhere.
“Aww, all that and he isn't even here?” Ena sighs, dropping onto the ground.
“Hey, these apples,” Akito says, “they’re candied.”
“Huh?” Ena gets up to look with him.
“There’s definitely some sort of syrup or caramel on them.”
“So maybe this is, like, the candy witch’s orchard?” Ena asks. “In that case he probably got nabbed by her for stealing her apples.”
“Which means we probably have to go back the way we came and find the candy house again.”
“Oh boy, time to shove a witch into an oven,” Ena says. “Why’s this SEKAI gotta be so involved?”
“Tell me about it,” Akito says. “Gretel-chan, we should head back, we have an idea where Hansel is.”
Gretel doesn’t say anything.
“Gretel-chan, is something—” Ena feels the ground give way from under her and she falls face first into some sort of hole, and feels Akito land on top of her.
“You ok?” Akito asks.
“Yeah, I will be once you get your butt off of me,” Ena mutters.
Akito doesn’t move.
“Um, hello?”
“Ena,” Akito says. “There’s a body.”
Ena looks up and chokes back a scream. The body… it looks like Len but wearing a similar outfit to Gretel.
“H-Hansel’s dead?” Ena asks.
“I don’t think that happens in any of the versions I’ve heard,” Akito says.
“Get off of me, we’re getting out of here.”
Akito finally gets off of her and Ena stands up, trying her best to not look at Hansel’s body as she examines they’re surroundings. The hole they’re in isn’t very deep, they should just be able to climb out.
“Akito, give me a boost.”
“Why does being older mean you have to boss me around?” Akito grumbles, but his heart isn’t in it. He crouches down and lets Ena step up, and she grabs hold of a sturdy root at the mouth of the whole. She kicks a bit but manages to pull herself up, her clothes completely covered in dirt.
“Gross,” she mutters. “Akito, need a hand?”
“No, I got it.”
She looks down into the hole and watches him jump, kick off the wall and grab the edge. Then he pretty effortlessly pulls himself up with none of the straining Ena had to do.
“You should have gone first,” Ena says. “Then you could pull me up.”
“Nah, that’d be way harder,” Akito says.
“Let me guess, because I’m too heavy?”
“No, because the angle would have made it harder.”
“Oh,” Ena says.
Akito gives a smirk. “I thought you were doing well in physics, Ena.”
“I know I’m doing better than you,” she snipes back.
“Will you stop?!” Gretel says, standing ominously in front of the exit to the orchard.
Akito takes a deep breath. “Gretel, I have some bad–”
“Why don you have to keep fighting? Why can’t you understand Gretel’s true feelings?”
“Huh?” Ena asks. “Wait, Gretel's true feelings? Aren’t you–
Gretel– if she is Gretel– snaps her head up and her eyes are completely black.
Akito and Ena both take a step back
“oNCe UpON a tIMe,” she growls, her voice sounding deeper, “HAnseL aND gReTEl cAMe tO mY HouSe. I WANTed tO hElP. bUT TheY coulDN’T stOP figHTING. tHEN HaNSel DIED, aND gReTEL neVER FoUnD her TRue feELInGs.”
“We’re sorry about that,” Ena says. “But--”
“YoU don’T unDErSTanD GREtel’S FeEliNgs. wHY? I tRiED. iF If iF I k-k-k-ILl yoU, tHeN wILL yOU UNderSTand?!” Rin keeps twitching and there’s a horrible sound of bones cracking as her body contorts and she grows into a much larger monster straight out of some child’s nightmare. Her skin grows paler, making her black eyes stand out more and her teeth grow sharper. An extra pair of long arms with sharp claws grows out of her shoulder blade, and to cap it off she’s wearing a dark, pointed, hat.
“Rin!” Ena says, “I think this is a misunderstanding!”
“Ena, we’re running!” Akito says, dragging her along. Rin howls again behind them and there’s a sweet scent into the air before jagged bits of rock candy start popping out of the trees. One shard gashes Akito’s cheek as he ducks underneath it.
“A-Akito, you have to slow down!” Ena yells.
“Are you trying to die?”
“I c-can’t…” her lungs are absolutely burning. Akito seems to get what she means and points to a large tree that’s knocked over. They dive behind it, and are fairly hidden from view.
“yOU’Ll unDErSTaND gRETeL soON ! oNE waY oR aNOthEr! ” Rin hisses above them.
They’re both deathly silent as they hear the sound of movement pass above them.
“W-we have to find a way out of here,” Ena pants.
“Find a different SEKAI, maybe?”
“We… don’t know… if there are any connected….”
“Ok, ok then how do we get out of here. She wants us to understand Gretel’s feelings, right?” Akito says. “She probably only wants to kill one of us then, so the other will know how Gretel felt.”
“I don’t need the first-hand experience to get it!” Ena snaps.
“Maybe if we tell her, we can–”
Ena doesn’t hear the rest of Akito’s thought because a hand grabs her leg and yanks her into the air until she’s face to face with Rin.
“ffffffFFFFOunD yoU!”
Ena screams. Oh god she’s about to die via being eaten by a giant witch version of Rin Kagamine.
A rock flies into Rin’s face.
“Hey! You want my sister, you’ll have to go through me!” Akito shouts, throwing another rock and Rin’s face.
Rin roars and drops Ena like a ragdoll to swipe at Akito. She brandishes razor sharp candy canes and swipes at him, knocking over trees with a single swing.
Ena’s entire body hurts but she has to do something. Rin said she wanted them to know how Gretel felt, but she’s a Virtual Singer… she should be happier with them knowing the true feelings Gretel never found, right? If it has to do with Hansel and the reason Akito and Ena were brought here specifically, then…
…Is it really going to be that easy?
Ena takes a deep breath. “Akito!” She screams, “I love you!”
Suddenly a rush of warmth rushes over her, and she and Akito are deposited in Street SEKAI in front of Toya, Mizuki, and Akito’s MEIKO and Miku.
“Ow,” Akito mutters. “Ena, you ok?”
“Everything hurts,” she mutters. “I need the longest bath ever.”
“Same.”
“Oh my gosh guys! You did it!” Mizuki cheers.
“You were trapped in an untethered SEKAI,” Toya says. “It’s the SEKAI of someone who died that’s drawn to people with similar feelings.”
“Wait, how’d you know that?” Akito asks.
“It was the Storybook SEKAI, it was in the book,” MEIKO says, pointing to the big tome on the table.
“We saw you guys but we couldn’t get you out,” Miku says.
“So we just had to prove we loved each other?” Ena gasps.
“What, me distracting a human-eating witch isn’t good enough?” Akito asks, pouting.
“The Storybook SEKAI is very literal,” MEIKO says. “On the one hand, you have to literally say the words ‘I love you,’ to get out. On the other hand you could have gotten out of there immediately if you just said it when you first arrived, even if it was a lie.”
“But we know it isn’t a lie,” Mizuki says, “because Enaemon said she loves Otoutou-kun!”
“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Ena says. Why’d they have to see all that?
Akito gets really quiet, like he’s thinking of something, then gives a frustrated sigh. “Well, you did save our lives so I guess you can’t be the only one who’s humiliated,” he says. “Ena, I love you too.”
They settle into an awkward silence.
“Ok, that sucked,” Akito says.
“I know right?!”
“Honestly, next time just let me get eaten.”
“Done.” Ena turns to Mizuki. “Can we take a raincheck on that cafe, I don’t want to go out right now.”
“Same here, partner,” Akito says. “I need to pass out.”
“Want our help with the cuts and bruises?” Mizuki says. “We’ll tell your mom it was an emergency.”
“Nah, we got it.” Akito says. “Dibs on the first bath.”
“Oh no you don’t!” Ena yells, and together they disappear out of SEKAI.
“See you soon MEIKO,” Toya says, taking Mizuki out as well.
“I don’t get them,” Miku says. “What’s so wrong with telling your sibling ‘I love you’?”
“Well,” MEIKO says with a fond smile. “They’re the type of siblings who are so close they don’t need to say ‘I love you.’”