Hesitation
Hesitation (迷い Mayoi) by Yuuri Fushimi is the sixth chapter in the Zero 3 Comic Anthology.
Story
Amane and Hisame are walking together, when Hisame brings up Amane's selection as a Handmaiden. Hisame is impressed and thinks that it's a prestigious thing, but Amane disagrees, saying that her grandmother only chose her because she wouldn't hesitate or be put off and mess up the sacred rituals. Hisame is also sad that Amane will become a Handmaiden, since the two won't see each other often.
Amane is reflecting on what a kind girl Hisame is, and how well they get on even though they're complete opposites, when Hisame spots a cat lying by the roots of a tree. Seeing that its paw is broken Hisame wants to take it home to nurse it back to health, but Amane says that nothing more can be done and breaks its neck, explaining that it would only have suffered otherwise. As they walk off, Hisame trails behind and begs Amane to slow down, carrying the dead cat in her arms. She then leads the way to a clearing in the woods, a place where flowers bloom even in the darkness, so that the cat can "sleep in peace". This is the first time Hisame has seen a dead body and admits that she was afraid at first, but is fine now. She notices how calm Amane was and hopes that she can learn from her by watching.
Soon after, Amane leaves home to begin her Handmaiden training. On the first day she is met by a woman with whom she makes two origami figures, believing the atmosphere to be much less strict than she had imagined, almost to the point of a let-down. The woman then takes the two figures and tells Amane to think of them as her mother and father as she tears them up before her. The woman then tells her to pull herself together, as hesitant Handmaidens are useless.
Meanwhile, Hisame comes across a girl crying over the body of a bird with a swollen stomach. She tells the girl not to cry, because she will make it better, and then breaks its neck. The shocked girl asks if there was really nothing they could do and Hisame explains that it is no longer in pain, and ending its suffering quickly was the best thing to do. However, the bird didn't die as quickly as she had planned and Hisame believes that she caused it to suffer, and she begins to cry and apologise, thinking aloud that if Amane, her only friend, had been there she would've told her how to do it properly. The girl then offers to be Hisame's friend and she happily takes her up on the offer, so that they can practice together and improve.
Amane's training continues and, one day after study, the woman comments on what a lovely smile she now has, and gives her a letter from Hisame. In the letter, Hisame tells her about Shigure, the new friend she made, and says that she will introduce the two when Amane arrives home and that they will surely become friends. She then tells Amane to think of her when training gets hard to bear, but Amane doesn't think the training is hard at all - everyone at the manor is kind to her and always smiling. Amane is happy that they chose her, and that someone could make use of her; she is happy to be there, a place where even her cold heart began to stir.
Soon after, Amane arrives back at the village for three days. She is warned not to get too comfortable but is glad to be home so she can relax. She wonders if she will return to her old self as Hisame comes running up, proclaiming that Amane hasn't changed at all. Hisame introduces her to Shigure, and then takes her off to a familiar spot in the woods - the cat's grave. Amane is surprised by how much the place has changed; where they were white flowers before, lots of flowers of different colours were growing, and there is a large expanse of gravestones in the grass. Another girl, Minamo, is in the area experimenting on an animal and Hisame admonishes her, saying how sad it is when she's doing it all the time. Hisame then comments to Amane about how much she has improved, even though Minamo is still young and not very proficient.
However, the girls can no longer tell the gravestones apart. Minamo suggests drawing faces on the gravestones to distinguish them from the others, and her two friends enthusiastically agree. Amane thinks about how all of the other girls are laughing, but she isn't. She then mentions that, not long afterwards, the other three girls became Handmaidens.