Stone Arc

Story guide

When asked whether they went somewhere, Usagi answers that it was a trip. Chiikawa and Hachiware accept souvenirs from Usagi and place them on their palms while checking whether these are gifts from the trip. Hachiware remarks that the translucent stones are beautiful, but Usagi replies with only a short sound. When Hachiware asks what kinds of places Usagi usually visits, Usagi again answers with a single word, drawing a puzzled sound from Hachiware. Finally, Hachiware says the stone could be displayed or perhaps used to hold down the pages of a notebook, and the story ends after one more brief reply from Usagi.

Story guide

Chiikawa and Hachiware toast bread sprinkled with granulated sugar and crunch into it. Hachiware remarks that granulated sugar toast is better, and then notices a pink stone sparkling on the desk. When Hachiware says that looking at this stone makes them want to go on a trip, Chiikawa gives a brief response. The two imagine travel destinations where they could eat delicious things and see new things, and picture a grassland with Usagi and an unfamiliar creature with tentacles. But the fantasy cuts off there, as Hachiware declares it is time to study and study, and Chiikawa turns back to their book with a cry.

Cultural and language noteGranulated sugar has relatively large crystals. Here, it is sprinkled over the surface of toasted bread.

Story guide

Hachiware and Chiikawa wonder whether Usagi, whom they have not seen for some time, may have gone on a journey. Soon afterward, they find marks in the mud that resemble Usagi's and decide they are fresher than ordinary footprints. The marks continue down the road, so Hachiware suggests following them and Chiikawa goes along. Usagi's absence becomes a search for clues, setting up the point before the three meet again elsewhere.

Story guide

Chiikawa and Hachiware continue following muddy marks that gradually fade away. Where the trail disappears, they find an old inn-like building surrounded by trees. Hachiware is surprised by the building's atmosphere, and the two approach its entrance. They call out while hesitating over whether they may enter, but receive no answer. With the trail they were following at an end, the seemingly deserted building becomes their next object of exploration.

Story guide

Outside the entrance, Chiikawa and Hachiware see a small black figure leave while holding something stone-like. They follow it into the building and investigate by opening the sliding doors in the hallway one at a time. Looking into a room identified by its sign, they find several black creatures breaking apart and carrying large pale-purple stones. The quiet inn contains a hidden workroom whose activity has no explanation.

Story guide

Hearing the stones being carved and seeing the black creatures at work, Chiikawa and Hachiware wonder whether this is a souvenir workshop. Usagi then appears and, unconcerned that the two have found them, approaches while waving the tool in their hand. The stones Usagi had been gathering become connected to the workshop's work, but the three cannot read the words on the room's nameplate. With no explanation of the purpose, the scene ends as Usagi prepares to return to the worksite.

Story guide

Indoors, Usagi suddenly starts stomping along, and Hachiware calls out in surprise asking what is going on. Usagi heads straight out into the garden and proceeds over the gravel; Hachiware asks if they are going out to the garden, and Chiikawa follows outside without understanding what is happening. When the three line up, Usagi's body changes to a pale pink, glossy texture. Chiikawa cries out in surprise, and Hachiware shouts asking what is going on. Looking closer, even Usagi's eyes have become like round orbs, and Hachiware starts to say something about the eyes, then corrects themself to say it seems like plastic. After their words trail off, Hachiware declares that Usagi has become like a marble, and Chiikawa lets out a scream and it ends.

Story guide

This single image places Usagi, Hachiware, and Chiikawa side by side. Usagi faces sideways and seems to hold a small object near their mouth, while Hachiware and Chiikawa watch from either side. There are no speech bubbles, background, or panels, and no explanation of the change that came before or the action that follows. Rather than advancing the story, it works as a brief illustration of the three's arrangement and a small movement of Usagi's hand.

Story guide

Seeing their companion turned purple, Hachiware and Chiikawa confirm that they have returned to their usual path. The companion goes back into the inn, and the two follow. In a room where the black creatures have gathered, a white ornament-like object on a stand continues to make a sound. Hachiware suspects the sound may be connected to why the stones were being collected, and decides to approach it with Chiikawa.

Story guide

Looking at a white ornament placed on a red pedestal, Hachiware remarks that it might be a snake ornament. As they stare at it, their vision wavers, Chiikawa cries out "Uwawa," and Hachiware complains that their consciousness is growing hazy. When they come to, grayed figures are lined up around them, and Hachiware asks whether this is a curse. Hachiware protests that turning to stone is definitely wrong, and Chiikawa nods strongly in agreement. Seeing the ornament continuing to emit a low sound in the dim hall, Hachiware declares that everyone has been cursed by that ornament. The two ready their small tools, shout that they will destroy that snake, and break into a run, and the scene ends as the ornament reacts in surprise.

Story guide

When Chiikawa and Hachiware approach, a long white body extends from the object on the stand, showing that it is not an ornament but something alive. The surrounding creatures urge them to speak to it, and Hachiware is unsettled by the sudden situation. Remembering that they had planned to clip their claws, Hachiware takes out a tool and steps before the moving figure. Chiikawa follows, and the two try to change the situation with the tools in their hands rather than through conversation.

Story guide

As they flee the room, Chiikawa and Hachiware find a basket marked live stones in an area that resembles a shop. The impression that this was once an inn remains, but the black creatures and the large pale-purple object keep moving. The two make their way through the oncoming figures, but the situation grows more dangerous as they head toward the exit. With the long white figure closing in, the scene ends as they hesitate over where to run.

Story guide

nagano's bear holds a blue bowl-like object and makes a small swaying motion beside it. A shallow round stand sits on the floor, but no dialogue explains what it is for. The movement occurs only once and does not lead to a conversation with anyone else or a move to another place. Inserted partway through the Stone Arc, this is a quiet, small cut focused only on nagano's bear's gesture.

Story guide

Chiikawa leaves the hallway where the black creatures have gathered and follows the long white figure. In a room farther inside, a large dressing-table-like piece of furniture stands against the wall, and the figure crawls around the room. Chiikawa watches from behind cover, but suddenly recoils when a long rod-like object is swung. After running back, Chiikawa again considers that the building entered by following the footprints had been an inn.

Story guide

This single image shows two small pale-purple figures side by side, facing the same way with spiraling eyes and open mouths. The image contains no scene information connecting it to the name Furuhonya, nor any dialogue, background, or passage of time that identifies who did what. Only the matching colors and expressions of the two figures are emphasized. It is treated as an expression-focused insert in the Stone Arc that does not advance events.

Story guide

Chiikawa repeatedly swings a wooden-frame-like object at the long white figure in the room. The figure stretches out and changes direction, refusing to leave Chiikawa's path. Even after retreating into the hallway, Chiikawa does not lose sight of it and confronts it again near the dressing table. At the end, several white forms appear to tumble with a sound of impact, leaving a tense sequence in which Chiikawa tries to stop the figure alone.

Story guide

Using the wooden frame, Chiikawa repeatedly strikes the long white figure and drives it outside the building. Hachiware and Usagi watch, and immediately after the figure leaves, their pale-purple changes return to normal. Usagi takes this as the curse having been lifted, but Hachiware still does not understand what happened. Chiikawa's action appears to have undone the disturbance, though the reason is not explained.

Story guide

When Chiikawa, Hachiware, and Usagi return to the hallway, the black creatures begin leaving one after another. Rain falls outside, and only carved pale-purple stones and fragments remain in the broad work area. Hachiware wonders whether what was here had been stone from the beginning, or whether it took this form after being carved. Usagi approaches a large stone, but the three gain no answer and simply look at the now-silent place.

Story guide

In the rain, Chiikawa, Hachiware, and Usagi try to return a small white creature to a hollow in the soil. Chiikawa widens the hole with a tool, while Hachiware handles the soil nearby. They place the large purple object and the white creature in the ground, with the inn visible far behind them. Afterward, the three look back quietly at the building, which now resembles an abandoned site.

Story guide

Hachiware, Chiikawa, and Usagi find red dragonflies in the grass. One rests on Hachiware's head, while Usagi watches another near their mouth. Chiikawa stands between them and looks up at a dragonfly flying overhead. The background contains only grass and leaves, with no dialogue or incident. Away from the tension at the inn, this illustration shows a calm moment of the three watching insects.

Story guide

While Hachiware faces away in a grassy area, Usagi and Chiikawa eat a small food with purple and green stripes. As they eat, Usagi remarks that it goes down smoothly. Chiikawa holds the same food, and small sounds come from the two's hands. Hachiware hears the conversation without turning around. The food's name and where it came from are not revealed; the panel only conveys the feeling of the three sharing a brief snack.

Story guide

Chiikawa and Hachiware decide that they should bury the remaining pale-purple stone fragments as well. Usagi starts digging first, and the two catch up afterward. When more fragments are found in the hole, Hachiware worries about having dug with bare hands, while Chiikawa holds a stone and examines it. The two repeatedly make the same sound, and Usagi reacts with puzzlement. The task of clearing away the stones takes on the feeling of a slightly strange game.

Story guide

Usagi leans forward into a pile of dry dirt, digging it out with both hands while panting heavily in a loud voice. Dust rises and small stones bounce. Watching from a little distance away, Hachiware murmurs "Huh?" and stops in their tracks, looking surprised alongside Chiikawa next to them. It is not shown what Usagi is digging for, and their hands do not stop. It is a single illustration placed within the flow of the story about stones, and any further interaction beyond this is not depicted.