7 Seeds vol. 21 ch. 111 [summary]

Finally, the last chapter of volume 21! I’ll be starting on 22 next month. :)

Beneath the cut is a detailed summary of 7 Seeds vol. 21, chapter 111 by Tamura Yumi. Don’t click through if you don’t want spoilers. Download the raw here.

The next day the horses lead her to an area filled with greenery, maybe a forest, and she knows there must be water nearby.

As she makes her way into the forest, she sees the ground has gone from cracked and dry to grassy. She runs forward in search of water and finds a swampy area dominated by a HUGE tree. She dashes forward and crouches down, splashing her face with water. Although it looks clean, she isn’t going to take a chance on drinking it directly.

She realises all the animals knew of this place, and mentally thanks them for leading her here. She sees many different types of animals she’s never seen before and remembers how when she first woke up in this world, she wondered if there were only reptiles left because that an insect-like creatures were all they saw. But there are plenty of mammals who survived or evolved and are still here. She even sees more piggies and points them out to her pig friends.

She wonders if the other teams have been here. If Arashi has been here…

Then she notices some of the animals seem afraid or on guard. Just as she realises what that might mean, a crocodile-type creature bursts out of the water to attack one of the horses. All the other horses run, except for the baby one whose always held back from the pack. She yells at it and whacks it to try and get it to safety.

As she’s faced with two crocodiles, she realises that she, too, is prey. But suddenly something huge snaps up the crocodile. She stares at it, uncomprehending. Another of those huge things snaps up the baby horse’s mother. The baby cries as its mother is devoured by this giant plant thing and once again, Hana tries to get the baby to leave.

She realises the carnivorous leaves are part of the giant tree and tries to cut them off. She manages, and it splashes into the water, but the mama horse is already dead. There’s some sort of poison in the leaves.

As she looks back at the tree, she notices the remains of many animals entwined in the roots of the tree.

The baby horse just stands there crying for its mother and Hana has finally had enough. She picks it up and runs with it, trying to get it to safety. A crocodile attacks, but doesn’t follow her when she gets to higher ground. She looks around for her piggies and sees they’re still safe.

She calls to them to follow her, but once they’re all safe, she realises that she hasn’t named them. They’re not her pets.

Living in this world means getting used to stuff like this. She had thought she could live alone, but thinks it might not be possible. She’s in awe of Aramaki for making it for fifteen years.

That night, she’s hungry. She hasn’t eaten well since leaving the beach. She knows she should hunt, but she’s exhausted.

As she watches, the animals come back to the water. The predators seem satisfied for now, and it’s quiet again. She realises that the animals have no choice but to come here, even knowing that the crocodiles and tree make it dangerous. The sacrifice of a few makes the others safe. That’s why it’s good to move in a pack. But good for whom, she wonders. What about those who are sacrificed? She wonders if they accept their death knowing the others will live.
That makes her think of the 7 Seeds project and how her mom and dad and the other people behind it must have thought exactly that. As long as someone survives, as long as she survives, it was worth it to them.

She wonders about the horse’s mother, and them remembers Aramaki saying that the fact that they’re all here means someone loved them.

She tries to get the baby horse to return to the pack, but it’s stubborn and doesn’t want to go. She says it doesn’t understand its mother’s sacrifice, and then realises the same applies to her. She still doesn’t really understand. If she were to die, she wouldn’t care what happened after. She wonders if that would change if she had kids.

That makes her think of Kurumi, and she wonders how she’s doing. She wishes she could be there when Kurumi gives birth.

She drifts off to sleep and awakes with a start, wondering if her piggies and the baby horse are okay, only to find them all awake and guarding her.

It’s dark. The moon is covered in clouds. She senses something out there, and looks down to the water to see eyes shining.

There are nocturnal creatures that would make moving at night dangerous, and she can’t build a fire because there’s no dry, dead branches, so she decides to stay put for the time being.

She hears a noise. It sounds like something being caught. Then she sees a light. Someone’s there! She wonders if it’s Ango and the others, but just then the clouds break and in the moonlight she can see who it is.

“Fujiko-chan…?”