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a-student-out-of-time · 1 year ago

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ASOOT Timeline: February 2013 (A Dilemma of the Highest Moral Order)

Hey, guys, remember me? Well I’m back with most of the Price of Fate arc (all except the last day, because that is not done yet). Please enjoy!–Timeline Anon

February 4:

At 6 AM, Umeko takes all of her time travel research out of her lab at Hope’s Peak. Some is transferred to her house, and the rest is trashed.

The news is out to the public regarding the Harumi-Emina class swap. Now, the Steering Committee is getting injunctions from the police department, and they debate whether or not to allow an investigation on campus. Their collective freakout is interrupted by Masa and Koichi, and Koichi delivers Jin’s decision: all future Hope’s Peak attendees will be approved by Jin and Koichi, the Steering Committee will no longer have any say in that, all current and upcoming attendees will be examined to see why they were chosen, the mass investigation will happen, and the Steering Committee will transfer executive power to Jin. Eventually, the Steering Committee does agree to this in an effort to save the school’s reputation. The investigation will begin after school. After Mass and Koichi leave, the Steering Committee reassure themselves that the school will be fine, as even if the Diet freezes their assets, they have benefactors overseas. There are also hints that they might be planning something regarding Masa.

Masa updates Chiaki, Suzuko, and Taro about the morning’s events. As the investigation is set to begin, it’s mentioned that criminal talents are most likely going to be expelled and barred from attending for the most part. Chiaki vouches for Mondo, and Koichi says that he’ll probably be all right to attend, but Fuyuhiko and Peko’s future at Hope’s Peak is in jeopardy because of this investigation. Suzuko and Taro will inform the rest of the Student Council, who will in turn inform everyone else. Chiaki advises Masa to take care of herself.

The original Ultimate Lucky Student is revealed to be a girl by the name of Umi Domoto, who is lucky but also quite unlucky and has been in the hospital often.

Masa briefly meets with Estu in Conference Room 37. Estu is revealed to have swiped the Izuru Kamukura Project Personnel File, containing the names and profiles of everyone associated with the project, from the Steering Committee while Masa distracted them. She doesn’t feel safe at school anymore, so she’s going to stay with Mayumi for a while.

In the afternoon, the Quantum Crew meets in the Void Warehouse. Hajime’s finally ungrounded. Nikei’s mad at Umeko for sharing her time travel research with the world, as that caused Yasuke and Masa to figure them out. Umeko assures him that the information never left Hope’s Peak. Then, they all reconnect with the 2030 crew, and Sunako finally explains exactly what she’s been keeping from them. It goes as follows:

A ship called the HMCS Apothegem, formerly of the Canadian military before being sold to a private buyer in Italy, became the personal lifeboat of the Preservation Project. The ship left Naples on New Years’ Day of 2025 and sank in the North Atlantic on December 9 of that same year. Only six survivors made it to nearby Greenland on the 14th, five days later: Sei Konno, Kanon Ota, Missy Vesper, Lyle D. Termina, Gaea Espere, and Echo Pine. Those six were the only survivors of a series of 50 killing games run aboard the ship by the Preservation Project, during which 445 Ultimates died.

The Preservation Project was hoping to cultivate someone who would display a special ability as a result of these games. They did find such a person in Echo Pine, who awakened precog powers not unlike Mikako’s during their game. It’s because of Echo that the Kisaragi Foundation was able to create their time machine in this future.

As Gaea Espere explains to the group, she was the one who sank the Apothegem after winning the 49th game and being forced to watch the 50th, and Echo proved vital to saving the few people they were able to save. After everyone escaped the ship, they hid out in Nuuk, Greenland for a while, where they were almost recaptured by the Preservation Project, but they were thankfully rescued by Mayumi, Masa, and the Kisaragi Foundation. They’ve had to stay in Japan under witness protection ever since. 2030’s Nikei is currently investigating the Apothegem’s wreckage to find out more information about the incident.

Takeharu Mizuta and Tsumugi Shirogane, as it turns out, were two of the biggest sponsors of the Preservation Project. The worst part is, in January of 2030, Tsumugi kidnapped Echo.

According to Mikako’s visions, Tsumugi will go on to produce 53 seasons of a killing game television show, starting with smaller shows but growing into bigger broadcasts by the 40s. Emma’s son Whit will end up in one of these games. Because she’s got Echo, Tsumugi will always see the Kisaragi Foundation coming, and she will keep copy-pasting her mind into many bodies across the world, so that the killing games become an international affair.

It won’t be until the fall of 2070 that the games will eventually end thanks to the cast of the 53rd season, which is entirely composed of the Quantum Crew’s descendants. These include Hajime and Hibiki’s granddaughter and Sayuri’s daughter Kaede (who’s also Natsumi’s granddaughter on her father Haruto’s side), Nikei and Taira’s granddaughter and Etsuya’s daughter Kirumi, Masa’s granddaughter Maki, and Sunako’s own grandson Kaito. It’s also mentioned that Kokichi Ouma is the grandson of Komaru (who marries Kasumi’s son Hirota), Korekiyo Shinguji is the grandson of Kikue and also Maki’s real boyfriend, Angie Yonaga is the granddaughter of Mio, Miu Iruma is the granddaughter of Miwa and Fumio (who both died in a car accident when she was young, possibly due to Ayumu’s bad luck), Ryoma Hoshi is the grandson of Kojikoji, and Tenko Chabashira is the granddaughter of Estu and Mayumi. All will be brainwashed with new identities that are purposeful insults to their ancestors.

After Nikei demands actual answers on why they should trust the 76 Squad, Sunako breaks down and tearfully reveals that Masa will be the only one to survive the war against Tsumugi. This is because of Hajime’s no-killing rule, which Tsumugi will take advantage of and circumvent at every turn, resulting in the deaths of every other member of the Quantum Crew. Masa will spend decades of her life fighting Tsumugi from the shadows, operating under a cover story involving her own “death” at the hands of the HSS, and she will lose everything and everyone else in her life in the process. Sayuri will also live, but only because she will cut ties with her family and go into hiding, partly because of resentment due to Kanade and partly because Hajime won’t kill Tsumugi. Her twin daughters, Kaede and Erika, will live in safety for a while before Tsumugi will find them too. In a surprise twist, they will grab Erika thinking that she’s Kaede, and it will be she who dies in Season 53. The real Kaede will live, but will never be the same.

There is no practical means to stop Tsumugi, according to Sunako. Not while she has Echo and her body-snatching ability. Their only chance is for the Quantum Crew to stop her in 2012…and Sunako says that she and Takeharu must be stopped, even if it means killing them. On the bright side, they have two extra days for the Takeharu mission, so there’s that.

As the 2030 crew logs off with the reminder that it wasn’t Hajime’s fault, Nikei is filled with regret for pressing Sunako on this, while Hajime remains desperately insistent that there must be another way to stop Tsumugi and Takeharu. Taira, Emma, and Nikei all angrily insist that the two Despairs must be killed for the sake of their families. Mikan and Yoruko manage to defuse the situation by suggesting that they all take some time to decompress. Hajime swears to use that time to think of a better way, and Yoruko drives him and Hibiki home. Kyoji will keep working on methods to counter Tsumugi’s technology. Sonia tells Nikei to think hard about whether or not he can really kill.

Hajime and Hibiki come home to his parents in tears. Yoruko tells Hiroshi and Keiko what happened and advises them to give them some space to think. Keiko says that her father, a private investigator named Daisuke Sato, is coming tomorrow to help with the mass investigation. Hajime is apprehensive, but glad that his Aunt Setsuna isn’t coming.

Late at night, Hajime cuddles with Hibiki and confides to her that he knew his no-killing rule would come into question at some point. He wants to know what Sunako meant when she said that this happened because of his actions, and when Hibiki asks why he’s never even considered the idea of murder, he admits that he’s still haunted by the Tragedy and wants to create a different world where they don’t have to rely on murder as a solution. He hopes that maybe if he finds out why the Despairs follow Junko, he can get them to turn on her. Either way, he doesn’t want to take life and death into his own hands, and he feels like if he kills even once, he can’t pretend to be a good person anymore. Tomorrow, he plans to do some research and ask around on the question. Hibiki comforts him; she’s also making plans to talk with Sayuri.

That night, Hajime has a terrible nightmare where specters of Apothegem survivors and casualties alike, along with Whit and Izuru, berate him for putting his no-killing rule above their lives. He sees Echo trapped in Tsumugi’s cage, begging for help, and wakes up screaming.

It’s Haruto and Jubei’s birthday. They turn 1.

February 5:

Hajime wakes up at 6:20, rather upset over the nightmare. He gets a surprise 2030 check-in from Sunako, who has been able to trace back the ancestry of 13 out of the 16 V3 participants. In addition to the ones already stated, Shuichi Saihara is the great-grandson of Yuka and the grandson of Tato, Tsubasa, Eito, and Tomoe, while Gonta is the grandson of Akane’s youngest sister Teruko. K1-B0 was originally a therapy robot created by an engineering company founded by Kazuichi, Chihiro, and Ayumi, but will be hijacked by Team Danganronpa (his head will manage to survive that final explosion at the end, though, so he won’t really die). The only three that they haven’t been able to trace so far are Rantaro Amami, Kiko Omigawa (the blue-haired girl who served as Tsumugi’s final vessel), and Himiko Yumeno. Sunako is curious as to their connection to the Quantum Crew and theorizes that they might not have met their ancestors yet.

It’s also mentioned that Kaori’s husband and Kikue’s husband will both be toxic assholes, and that Kaori will die of a postpartum hemorrhage giving birth to Kaito, while Kikue’s granddaughter (and Korekiyo’s sister) will die of an illness.

Because of self-consistency, the only way to stop the Preservation Project, Tsumugi’s killing game show, the Holy Salvation Society, etc. is to stop the circumstances leading up to them. What’s more, Sunako still isn’t sure what effect the current investigation will have on things. Hajime plans to talk to everyone who he knows have descendants in the V3 cast in hopes that he can get their perspective on things. Sunako says that she’ll be happy if he finds another solution, but also reminds him that they’re fighting to save thousands of lives and that he doesn’t have to take responsibility for the hardest choice if worst comes to worst.

Hajime gets Hibiki’s input on his list. She tells him that he probably shouldn’t talk to 2-year-old Teruko or 11-year-old Sunako, and also mentions that he should check on Miwa, as some of the comments the latter made during their ski trip makes Hibiki think that something bad happened to her.

Daisuke Sato arrives at the Hinata house, carrying a refrigerator with his bare hands. He’ll be staying for about a week or so, depending on how long the investigation takes. As Hajime assures his family that he’ll be all right, Chiaki and Nikei see the fridge incident from the bus stop. All three of them go with Daisuke to help with the investigation. The school is crawling with police and investigators right now, but Harumi is taking the lead.

Hajime briefs his friends on what he learned from Sunako, and he and Nikei have a quick debate about whether or not to kill Takeharu and Tsumugi. Nikei says that he has no problem dealing with this himself, but Hajime can’t ask him or anyone else to get involved. He asks for only two days, or at least until Nikei finds Takeharu. When asked about it, Nikei says that he thinks the Despairs should be killed, while Chiaki doesn’t know and wants a bit more time to think about it.

Mayumi indicates that she wants to talk to Hajime about something.

It seems that Class 77-B is under investigation right now. Teruteru is in trouble for the sexy soup incident, Hajime’s wanted for questioning in regards to the Twilight Syndrome incident, and Fuyuhiko and Peko are coming to terms with the fact that they’ll probably be expelled for their Yakuza connections. As Daisuke questions Teruteru, Hiyoko shows up and takes responsibility for putting the aphrodisiac in the soup. Hajime asks her if she’s sure about this, but Hiyoko tells him not to try and fix this for her, as it’s not his responsibility and he doesn’t have to fix everything, especially when it’s not even his fault. Hajime accepts her request, comforts her, and tells her to be careful.

Hajime tells Fuyuhiko about what happened last night and asks for his advice. Fuyuhiko advises him not to do anything that he’s not prepared to deal with and to ask for help if he needs it. He reassures him that he’s a good guy, thanks him again for saving his sister, and reminds him that he can’t save everyone.

Next, Hajime talks to Akane and Kazuichi. Akane, who’s used to violence from her childhood, wants to kill the Despairs herself, but advises Hajime to talk to her brother Hinata. Kazuchi reminds him that there isn’t always a third option, especially given how easy Tsumugi’s technology is to make.

Kyoji pulls Hajime into an empty classroom and begs for help. He asked Miaya to print off the records for his group therapy sessions, and now he needs to grab them, lest the police possibly find Kanade. What’s more, Eito and Tomoe are in the hallway getting asked questions about Eito’s mother. Kyoji asks Hajime to keep them busy while he grabs the papers.

Hajime goes to distract Eito and Tomoe, and Eito bemoans the fact that he still has no answers about what happened to his mom. He tells the story to Hajime and the cops, and Hajime immediately recognizes it as the Kamakura Project’s doing and mentally curses Kyoji for running away from Eito when he was asked about it. Eito just wants answers and doesn’t blame Kyoji, but would like to talk to him.

Meanwhile, Kyoji sneaks into the office and grabs all the printouts he needs. Just as he’s about to leave, he overhears Mai Shingetsu looking for Estu, and he immediately goes and confronts her. Hajime, Tomoe, and Eito hear the commotion and arrive in time to see Kyoji threaten to spill Mai’s secrets to the police if she doesn’t leave Estu alone. Even when she screams at him, he refuses to tell her, and Tomoe even gets some sass in before Mai storms off. Afterwards, Eito once again asks Kyoji about his mom, while Hajime encourages him to talk. Kyoji says that now is a bad time and that he needs to find Estu first, but gives Eito his number so that they can talk later.

Tomoe tells Hajime that he and Hope’s Peak were probably good for Hiyoko. Then, when Hajime asks her and Eito about murder, Tomoe says that she’d let the courts decide, and Eito agrees, saying that the death penalty exists for a reason. An overwhelmed and panicking Hajime goes to get some water and runs into Nikei. After he calms down a bit, they go to see Mayumi, and she asks for help.

Hajime, Nikei, and Kyoji meet with Masa, Mayumi, and Estu in the biology lab. Masa declares that she knows that one of the three boys is Kasugano, based on the evidence she has collected over the past several months. While Nikei accuses her of working with Hope’s Peak, Hajime has a breakdown, admits he’s Kasugano, and sobs that he only wanted to fix things but feels like he’s ruined everything. Mayumi comforts him and tells him that the investigation is Hope’s Peak’s fault, not his, and that he can be the symbol of hope that Japan really needs. The 76 Squad, as it turns out, wants to work together with the Quantum Crew to help get Estu out of the school, as the fact that she’s stolen the Kamakura File has put her at major risk, so she’s dropping out and running away. She has nowhere to go and asks if the Quantum Crew knows someplace off the grid. It takes some convincing, but Nikei agrees to let her stay at the Void Warehouse as long as she keeps out of their affairs, and they all agree to help Estu with her plan to escape the school. Estu once again suggests that Kyoji gets therapy, and the 76 Squad will answer Hajime’s questions after Estu’s escape.

Miwa has locked herself in a storage closet in the nurse’s office and is refusing to come out, despite Mikan and Fumio’s best efforts. Hajime shows up and manages to use his understanding kindness to coax her out of her hiding spot. It turns out that Miwa is very uncomfortable because the whole situation reminds her of her past: she was sexually assaulted by her former skating coach, fell pregnant as a result, and ended up giving the baby up for adoption. Now, she’s scared that her secret child could be discovered by the investigators, which would negatively impact her career. She hasn’t told the police yet, but Hajime convinces her to give the man’s name (Yasuo Furutani) to Harumi, who promises to catch him after the current investigation is over. Thankfully, Miwa is okay now, especially since she has her family, Nekomaru, and Fumio to support her. She also says that she doesn’t want to talk about death or punishment and just wants Yasuo to face justice.

Keiko picks Hibiki up from work, and Hibiki asks for advice about what to do about Sayuri resenting her due to Kanade. When Keiko asks why she would even still want Kanade in her life, Hibiki tearfully replies that she couldn’t let her go because she’s still her family and she was all she had for the longest time, plus she still feels guilty for the way she treated her due to being jealous of her. Keiko admits that she’s had similar issues with her own younger sister, Setsuna, who she was jealous of, and while Setsuna has grown up to be a massive bitch who is cruel to both Keiko and Hajime, Keiko still regrets her own cruelty to her in their childhoods. For now, Keiko’s advice to Hibiki regarding Sayuri is to just listen to her. She offers her more support and advice regarding her future marriage and pregnancy as well.

When Keiko and Hibiki get home, they find that Hiroshi is already home; turns out hundreds of businesses are being investigated due to their connections to Hope’s Peak, and Hiroshi’s work was shut down due to one such investigation. Worst case scenario is that he could lose his job. Keiko is angry about this, and mentions that Daisuke has beef with Hope’s Peak as one of his friends went there and it didn’t end well. Everyone stresses about how to tell this to Hajime without him blaming himself.

Hibiki talks to Sayuri, with Keiko there as backup. It turns out that Sayuri is upset that Hibiki even let Kanade back into her life at all, never mind making Sayuri go see her once a year. She hates Kanade because of what she did to Hibiki and wishes that Hibiki had just let her go. Hibiki apologizes, admits that she and Kanade were nothing but bad influences on each other and that trying to “fix” her has only made things worse. Sayuri says that she doesn’t have to feel guilty all the time and that it’s okay for her to move on and be happy. With Keiko and Sayuri’s encouragement, Hibiki decides that she’ll tell Kanade the truth, and also face her in court if necessary.

Sayuri’s friendship with Haruto is going well. She suggests that he would be happier if Natsumi distanced herself from the yakuza life.

When Hibiki mentions that her parents abandoned her, Sayuri is confused, as she heard from Yoruko that Hibiki cut them off and didn’t respond to their attempts to get back in touch with her. Hibiki and Keiko are incredibly confused by this and will talk to Yoruko about it tomorrow. Sayuri signs off while declaring her love for her mom, and Hibiki and Keiko go make sundaes.

Hajime, Kyoji, and Masa meet outside Hope’s Peak to sneak Estu out of the school. They’re confident in their plan, as Kyoji has tested it twice with a watermelon. Harumi and Daisuke distract Mai by demanding answers about the drugs students are allowed to access at school, forcing her to show them her labs. Once the coast is clear, Mayumi and Nikei sneak Estu into a trash bag wrapped in bubble wrap and sealed in a cardboard box, then throw her out the window into the dumpster. She’s fine. To sneak her out the rest of the way, Kyoji dresses in a hazmat suit and claims that he’s transporting dangerous chemicals. With that, Estu’s free (and still has the files with her), and the group takes her on a bus back to the Void Warehouse.

On the bus ride back, Kyoji makes it known that he doesn’t think the others actually consider him a friend and isn’t used to having friends in general. Estu, still wishing he’d get therapy, suggests he talk to Ai Ibarazaki, one of his former classmates, who he’s worked with a few times and had a decent relationship with. Apparently, she was sad when Kyoji left. Kyoji says he’ll get in touch with her tomorrow.

Hajime asks the 76 Squad how they feel about the whole killing thing. Estu says that revenge is just karma but that you should treat the dead with respect. Mayumi says that justice is what’s necessary, not revenge, that killing is wrong, and that karma will ensure that bad people get theirs eventually. Masa says that killing can sometimes be done with good intentions, such as the case of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, and that it doesn’t prove anything about who you truly are if you do it because you have no other choice. Even with their encouragement, Hajime still wants to find another way.

When the group gets to the Void Warehouse, Nikei shows Estu around, while Maku, Emma, and Sora reveal that they’ve found Takeharu’s location: the main office at the branch of MUFG Bank in Tokyo. He has 800 yen to his name, but always turns down promotions, he’s in the process of moving, and he hasn’t claimed any dependents. Nikei immediately starts railing for them to kill him right away, as he’s too paranoid about his family’s safety to wait around. Hajime and the others try to talk sense into him, since they barely even know what Takeharu’s deal is, but Nikei is convinced that he deserves to die for working with Junko. He suggests that they have the 76 Squad kill Takeharu and TSumugi instead, as they’re not part of the Quantum Crew and don’t have as many hangups regarding killing. An argument ensues, with Nikei and Hajime still at odds over the possibility of killing, and it ends with Nikei storming off while the other Voids promise to talk to him (they’re also planning to call Erina tomorrow).

The 76 Squad hears all the yelling and offers to do more investigation if necessary. Hajime asks them to help investigate Takeharu, and fortunately, Estu just so happens to need a new bank account, so they agree to do so. Masa suggests that Hajime start writing down ideas.

Hajime talks to Kyoji; Kyoji agrees that killing is wrong, discusses his existentialist views and how he thinks that we are the ones who assign meaning to life, and encourages Hajime to stick to his beliefs if he so chooses, since they have meaning to him. Hajime thanks him and reminds him that what happened in the Tragedy timeline with him becoming Izuru wasn’t Kyoji’s fault.

Mayumi thanks Hajime for everything he’s done as Kasunago. He encourages her to stay by Estu’s side and tell her how she feels.

When Hajime gets home, he finds his parents, Daisuke, and Hibiki eating sundaes made by Hibiki and Keiko, and he takes one too. Hibiki and Keiko are planning to talk to Yoruko tomorrow. Meanwhile, it seems that all of the dangerous chemicals have been cleaned out of Hope’s Peak, but Hiyoko and Teruteru are going to be expelled for the soup incident.

Hajime and Hibiki fill each other in on the day’s events. Hajime’s still bothered by a feeling of hopelessness from everything falling apart all at once. Hibiki reminds him not to blame himself and to focus on the good that could come from this. They end up having sex to help each other feel better.

Mayumi and Emma talk about their families, and Emma gives Mayumi permission to stay the night at the Void Warehouse. She assures her that Nikei says a lot of things he doesn’t mean, that he’s only like this because he cares, and that he can get better. Mayumi offers her help if necessary. When Emma asks her how she became friends with Estu in the first place, Mayumi says that Estu’s been through a lot, that she was the first person to really get to know her, and that she’ll make sure that nothing hurts her. Emma is glad that the two of them met. Mayumi also mentions that Yoruko seems very tired lately and that the Voids should probably talk to Nikei about why he doesn’t like Masa.

It’s Kiriko’s birthday. She turns 18.

It’s Makoto’s birthday. He turns 17.

February 6:

Hajime, Hibiki, and Keiko all accompany Daisuke on another day of investigations. Hajime still has people he needs to talk to, while Hibiki and Keiko need to talk to Yoruko about Hibiki’s parents.

Hibiki, Keiko, and Harumi meet with Yoruko and ask for answers. Yoruko denies lying about the Otonokoji parents calling her. Sora checks the phone records to clear things up, and it turns out that Maria and Sosuke Otonokoji called Yoruko twice. The first time ended in a misunderstanding, and Yoruko missed the second call (on the twins’ birthday), in which the Otonokojis apologized for their previous call and asked once again for information on Hibiki. Hibiki breaks down in tears, and Yoruko realizes how badly she messed up. Harumi figures that Yoruko genuinely remembered it all wrong because she suffers from compassion fatigue. Yoruko breaks down and admits that she’s been so busy helping everyone that she hasn’t had a break in a very long time. Hibiki, Harumi, and Sora encourage her to take time off to rest, which Yoruko agrees to do, and Hibiki and Keiko apologize for suspecting her of lying. Yoruko heads home with Sora. Hibiki decides to take some time to think before she contacts her parents.

Kyoji and Hibiki meet on the fifth floor, with Kyoji hoping to see Ai. Hibiki encourages him to say hi. They go to the greenhouse, where they see the plants and the chickens, and Ai Ibarazaki shows up, surprising them by walking on her hands. She’s very excited and happy to see Kyoji again. He apologizes for leaving without saying anything, and they hug. Ai mentions that she used to be scared of bugs, but conquered her fear in middle school and found her talent as a result. Now, she wants to go into forensic entomology. After she assures Kyoji that she’s not mad at him and will still be there for him no matter what, he promises that he’ll still be around for her too. They rekindle their friendship, and Ai becomes friends with Hibiki as well.

After Ai leaves, Kyoji confides to Hibiki that the fact that people still like him and forgive him makes him feel worse because he can’t internalize it due to his own self-loathing. He’s torn on whether or not he wants to see the file Estu took. Hibiki reiterates that it’s the Steering Committee’s fault, not his, and when he brings up his bleak-looking future, she even suggests that maybe they can change things so that he will not have to go to jail. She also tells him to see a therapist. When asked if he wants to have a family someday, Kyoji admits that he doesn’t know if he can be a good dad, or if he can even have kids. He’s keeping open the possibility of adoption, however. He also encourages Hibiki to take the chance to talk to her parents again. Hibiki decides that she will reach out to her parents and that she will do whatever it takes to keep Kyoji out of jail.

Kikue, fresh off investigators questioning whether or not she’s actually killed people, finds Gundham in the dining hall. He’s upset over what’s happening to his classmates, and no one has seen Sonia in quite some time, as she’s been holed up in her room. Gundham feels powerless to help them. Several of Kikue’s classmates are being investigated too, most notably Yasuke. To help Gundham feel better, Kikue decides to eat lunch with him, and they make lunch for Sonia as well. They talk about books, and when Gundham makes tea for Sonia, Kikue calls him cute. She tells him to focus on what he can do, and offers to talk anytime.

Thankfully, Sonia comes out of her room when Gundham and Kikue bring her tea. She’s been crying for two days because her family is concerned about her safety at Hope’s Peak. But she’s staying at school for now, and she won’t back down from helping her friends. Gundham and Kikue will support her. Kikue calls Sonia cool and hugs Gundham.

At the Void Warehouse, Nikei is practicing what he will say when he confronts Takeharu. He’s preparing for the worst. Maku and Emma are worried for him and know that this is not a good route for him to go down, so they’ve called in Erina to hold an intervention of sorts for their friend. They talk, he tells her about the current dilemma, and he insists that killing both Takeharu and Tsumugi is the only way for the Quantum Crew to protect themselves and their families, as he doesn’t believe that the world will give them a third option to take. Erina questions if he can really kill someone, tells the story of Nekomaru’s heart condition and the boy he met in the hospital, and says that while she wants to protect him, she knows that she has to let him live his own life. She asks if Nikei’s future family would want him to kill, and if Nikei himself truly wants to kill. After Nikei rants about his hatred of the wealthy elite and his incredulity that Hajime could ever think he’d end up just as bad by killing them, Erina asks him why he’s so sure that people like that can’t be trusted, and Nikei breaks down and tells her about his past. (This is also where we find out that his original last name was Arisaka and that his parents were local politicians.) Erina hugs him and apologizes that he ever had to go through that, while Nikei cries as he wonders why he still feels terrible for what he did. Erina wants to help him so that he doesn’t have to hide all this anymore, and she offers to come with him on the Mizuta mission and vouch for him if the truth ever comes out about what he did. Nikei thanks her, and at her and the other Voids’ urging, goes to get some sleep. He does, however, wonder how Masa survived Tsumugi’s rampage, and what it might’ve cost her.

The 76 Squad stakes out the MUFG Bank, waiting for Takeharu. Estu is ready to set up her new bank account, having engaged in slight fraud to obtain the legal documents she needs; the fake name she will use is Hikari Tano. She wants to change her appearance as well when she gets the chance, and she will get Kyoji to help change her dental records and DNA profile. She hopes to move to the Netherlands eventually.

Estu goes in with Mayumi to set up the bank account, while Masa waits outside in case Takeharu comes out. While they wait in line, Mayumi asks Estu if she’s doing okay and says that she will miss her, and Estu half-jokingly suggests she come with her. Mayumi, who’s grown to be a lot more comfortable with her sexuality thanks to Yoruko, promises to stay with her.

Masa spots Takeharu leaving the bank, sees that he’s writing a list, and follows him to a supermarket in Minato City. There, she watches him make a deal for an unknown formula with lysozyme and lactoferrin in it. Meanwhile, Estu overhears some bank workers talking about Takeharu: apparently, he’s on leave because he’s moving, and his wife died of an unknown medical complication back in June.

It’s evening, and Daisuke is still interviewing people, much to Hajime’s consternation. While he waits for him to finish up, he gets a text from Masa setting up a meeting at the Void Warehouse for 8 PM. He still has no non-lethal solution to the Takeharu-Tsumugi problem, and he’s freaking out about it. Distraught, he calls Ouma Mental Health Counseling and speaks to Hirota Ouma, Kasumi’s son. He asks him what he thinks about everything that happened. Hirota expresses his disgust at Emina and Hope’s Peak, mentioning that he himself turned down a spot at the school as the Ultimate Therapist, and says that it’s a good thing Kasunago turned up. He also tells Hajime that he and Kasumi can make time to talk if he needs it. After that, Hajime calls Mio, who is meeting with Ernesto to go over all the crimes Emina committed at Hope’s Peak. She tells him that the art world is changing for the better because of Kasugano’s actions. He asks her what’s the best way to figure out if he’s doing the right thing, and she tells him to take a deep breath and remember that dark times will pass and that it’s not his fault. She also offers to pray for him.

As Hajime continues to ponder the “to kill or not to kill” question and berates himself for people getting hurt as an indirect result of Kasugano’s actions, he runs into Taro and Tsubasa, who are discussing how Hope’s Peak is sweeping the Elementary Division under the rug. Tsubasa is determined to investigate it herself, and Taro offers to help her. Before he can talk to them, Hajime gets a flashback to their deaths in the Student Council Killing Game, and he flees the scene in tears. Then he reunites with Daisuke, finds out from him that Natsumi is once again in trouble for bullying girls around Tokyo, freaks out at the notion that once again something he did got people hurt, and screams at Daisuke to leave him alone and let him think before storming off.

Hajime runs into the Reserve Course building in full meltdown mode, still insisting to himself that he’ll find a way not to kill. In the library, he runs into Honami, now in a different outfit that she made herself. Her life has been going well: she’s improved her relationship with her parents, has new friends outside of school, got a refill on her prescription, and is even learning to sew. Her relationship with Mahiru is also going well. Apparently, Natsumi was forced by her mother (who also slapped her across the face) to apologize to the girls she bullied. Hajime vents to Honami about the current situation, and when Honami asks why Hajime is still friends with killers and attempted killers such as herself, Hajime admits that he is just personally uncomfortable with being a murderer because he hates himself and blames himself for everything. He breaks down crying, and Honami hugs him and tells him that it’s not his responsibility to fix everything and that he has to let others make their own choices too. Hajime acknowledges that she’s right and thanks her. Honami also says that the Reserve Course will probably shut down soon due to the investigation, which improves Hajime’s mood.

Hajime goes home and apologizes to Daisuke. It turns out that Keiko and Hibiki have already told Daisuke the truth about Kasugano, time travel, etc. Now that he’s in the know, Daisuke is quick to reassure Hajime that Hope’s Peak are the ones to blame for Izuru. He tells Hajime the story of his childhood best friend, Masato Shimabukuro, the former Ultimate Surgeon, who was coerced into helping with the Kamakura Project via giving proto-lobotiomes to inmates from various prisons. This had a really bad effect on his mental health to the point where Izumi, his upperclassman, started getting suspicious. Masato eventually ended up committing suicide due to the guilt, blaming Hope’s Peak in his suicide note. Daisuke never told Hajime before because he knew how much he admired Hope’s Peak and didn’t want to break his heart. The suicide note can’t be used to expose Hope’s Peak at the moment, as it’s Masato’s word against the school, plus one of the Steering Committee members was in the same class as Daisuke and Masato. But the Kamakura Project has been slowed down, and everyone’s planning on tracking whatever new methods they use. Hajime, exhausted, tells his family and Hibiki that he loves them before turning in for the night.

Estu gives Kyoji the Kamakura File, which contains all the information about Masato stated above, proving that Kyoji was not the first to be used by the Project. Kyoji breaks down in tears, and the girls assure him that Hope’s Peak is the one to blame, that they will take the school down, and that they forgive him. But Kyoji still thinks he has no future to look forward to; he’s looked into where he is in 2030, and he’s alone, with no family and no friends. This attitude angers Estu, who demands to know why he’s so obsessed with his own misery and keeps sabotaging every chance he has at happiness; she screams at him that she envies him, because at least people care about him and he can still be himself. She tells him her own story: she grew up in a small village, but she was blamed by the townspeople for her mother’s death by childbirth, and when she was 12 they blamed her for another child’s death and set fire to her house, which ended up burning the whole village down. Her father sacrificed himself to save her, and she was the sole survivor. Now, she hates her talent, and very few people want to associate with her because they see her as creepy, not to mention how she was forced to help with the Kamakura Project. She even used to self-harm. Mayumi is her first real friend, and she’s in therapy now, but she’s getting ready to leave her old identity behind completely. She tells Kyoji that she doesn’t blame him and that all she’s ever wanted from him is an apology, and so he apologizes, and she accepts his apology. Mayumi advises that if he apologizes to the deceased’s families, he might avoid jail time. They all agree to be friends.

Estu’s long-term goals are quitting her mortician work and becoming a baker, while Mayumi wants to be an athlete. Kyoji asks them if they want kids, and while neither of them are interested in giving birth, they’d be cool with adoption. Kyoji shows them a video of them together with their baby in the future. This makes Estu feel a lot better. Mayumi gets flustered, and Kyoji privately advises her to go ahead and confess her feelings to her. With that in mind, Mayumi talks to Estu, affirms her support for her no matter what, and confesses her feelings. Estu immediately kisses her. While they can’t truly be together until the current situation with Estu is over, Mayumi promises to wait for her. They spend the night together.

It’s 10:30, and Hajime is still no closer to coming up with a non-lethal solution to deal with the Despairs. He vents about it to Keiko, who suggests that he write a list of the pros and cons of killing them (she also reminds him that he doesn’t have to take responsibility for others’ decisions). Hajime makes the list, but ultimately comes up with more pros than cons. Distraught, he goes to bed. Keiko comes in while he’s sleeping and discovers that the last item on the con list is “You’re not a murderer,” which has been crossed out. Hajime then has another nightmare.

//And so the timelining begins again

#submission #mod talks #a student out of time #timeline anon

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