//I’ve got some unfortunate news to share, and I’ve had to make a couple of executive decisions regarding the blog and my current situation.
//First off, I originally intended to get back into answering asks this week. Unfortunately, that plan got derailed by a very sudden bladder-related issue that landed me with a catheter and valve inserted.
//This has happened to me before but as you can probably imagine, that’s made doing…well, pretty much anything difficult right now. Especially anything that requires sitting comfortably or putting in extended effort.
//The good news with that is that I’m in otherwise good health. I have a pretty bad cough, but that’s just because of a bug that’s been going around. and I’m not dying or anything dramatic like that.
//But obviously I don’t feel particularly comfortable with a tube up my dick. Because of that, I’m going to need to take this week to recover. During that time I’ll be limiting the amount of creative content I’m producing and posting. That also means projects like PToH and ReCaptured will unfortunately have to be delayed a bit while I get back to normal.
//The second update is the bigger one for the blog itself, and it’s a decision I’m honestly pretty sad about having to make.
//Starting from Phase 3 onward, the cast of Hyper Danganronpa H20 will no longer be able to receive questions on the blog.
//The reason for this is that the creator of H20, Milkpunches, has been actively trying to scrub the game’s existence from the internet because they’re not proud of the content they created back then. Personally, I think the situation is unfortunate and I’m not exactly happy about it, but I do understand their reasoning.
//Milkpunches created that fangan when they were younger and far more inexperienced as a writer and person in general. Since then, their views and values have changed quite a bit.
//Infamously, they are one of the most controversial Fangan creators in the Fangan industries history, but they are not the same person they were previously known as, and being defined entirely by one old project that doesn’t reflect who you are anymore is honestly pretty unfair.
//Even though I’ve never been a major hater of H20 myself, I think most people can acknowledge that it had its faults, and I respect Milkpunches’ decision to move on from it.
//Because of that, I want to respect the creator and their wishes.
//I do not intend to delete older posts that feature H20 characters, since they play important roles in story arcs prior to this point and removing them would damage the narrative of the blog quite a bit. However, beginning this season they will no longer appear directly. At most, they’ll only be referenced via word of mouth.
//This unfortunately also applies to Maya’s Seraphim counterpart, S-Barista. In-universe, we’ll just say she ended up moving in with the Freedom Foundation when they returned to the States, and wandered off before anyone could stop her.
//Again, I’m not particularly happy that I have to make this change, but it’s more important to me to respect creators and preserve the integrity of this fandom than it is to keep using characters whose creator no longer wants them circulating.
//I hope all of you can understand, and thank you for continuing to support the blog.
...Excuse me, I have to go scream at the heavens for a moment O_O...*goes outside* WHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTT??!?!!?!?
Obvious or not, I’m satisfied.
I’ve been waiting a damn while to get that off my chest.
Lies...You’re LYING!
You can’t be his brother! It doesn’t make sense! You’re talking shit!
I’m afraid not Hina...
Huh?
Byakuya? What are you-?
I...had my suspicions...And as a result, I called Aloysius.
Who’s that?
My old family butler. I’ve never told the 6 of you about this, but back when the Togami family reigned strong, we had a long lasting family tradition.
The patriarch of the family would travel around the world, and selectively have children with multiple capable women around the world. Then, once those children came to be of age, they would compete against each other for the title of family heir.
I was the last person to win that title, and every other sibling is considered dead to the family.
Yes, but Junko said that she’d tracked down every member of your family and killed them! She did so to wipe out every last trace of the Togami Family so she could bring Despair to you.
Not exactly. See...she missed one.
How!?
Because Tsuchiya and his family was wiped from all records. Aloysius discovered that my father pulled some strings.
Before the Togami family fell, Kijo wiped the history between the Kamiya family and the Togami family, including how he and Emiko Kamiya had bore a child together.
That child...being Akira here.
Mmm...That’s not QUITE the reason...But it certainly helped us in the long run.
Huh?
To be perfectly honest? I don’t have any delusions of grandeur.
I’m happy so long as you put a PC in front of me and give me a forum to troll. I don’t need a corporation, or money, or power for that matter. Such things are useless to me.
So when the battle for the throne first started...I dipped out the second it began. Industrial brawls and battles of wit to determine who the rightful king of lions is? Not for me...
That’s why the family wanted to wipe my existence. I was the embarrassment of all embarrassments.
That doesn’t make sense!
If you bowed out of the tournament, why are you seeking revenge against Byakuya!? That was YOUR choice!
It wasn’t my choice to be part of a bloodline of self-righteous d-bags. But my motives aren’t as complex as wanting the rights to the family, or anything THAT great.
Then what’s your game!?
...
*Akira points to Byakuya.
You and I are the last two remaining members of our bloodline. He may be long gone, but I get a tingle, just imagining the look on your father’s face, when he imagines the boy he chose to be his heir, being killed by the child...the hellspawn that he forgot.
So that means...
Don’t you remember what I told you when we sat and drank at the bar together?
I want everyone, and everything around me…to suffer despair… Whether they’re my friends, my enemies, people I don’t even know…It really doesn’t matter. Ever since I was a kid, the only joy I ever got out of MY life, comes from making OTHER people’s lives miserable.
...
There’s method to my madness...There’s more than just sick kicks as the reason why I’ve tried to keep you alive.
There’s no way I would pass up the opportunity to butcher you myself.
...You don’t care about wealth, money, or power...you don’t even consider this revenge...
You just want to see me hurt...and for my family history to be rooted in Despair...
...
I accept your challenge, Akira Tsuchiya...I swear on my history and my legacy, that I will survive...
*Hunter suddenly pulls a sugary donut out from his pocket. He hands it to Hina, who snatches it.
...Thanks.
Heh...
*She starts to chew on the donut.
So...how’d you find me?
You might not know this, but I’m actually pretty famous. I have been for a fair while now.
It honestly sucks...Back in the day, I got hounded by paparazzi left and right. The only reason people don’t do it as much any more is because they think Hunter Rosenhall is dead, and that I’m just a double act or something.
Kuripa told me that you were an Olympic level swimmer at one point. Surely you know the feeling?
Too well. It’s annoying when you’re trying to swim...
Because they’re taking pictures of you when you’re exposed? Yeah, I’ve been there.
E-Exposed isn’t right, I-I don’t swim naked or anything!
You know what I meant...!
*Hunter and Hina sit on a bench in silence for a short while. Hunter downs his drink while Hina finishes off her donut.
...
Can I ask a weird and kinda insensitive question?
...What?
What happened during the Killing Game? Yours I mean...
I know Makoto went over it for us all, but that was just from his perspective. I think he was beating around the bush a little because the idea of demonizing his friends and classmates didn’t sit right with him.
Hell, Maya and Four were doing the same thing most of the time, and they’re both blunt as a hammer most of the time.
...
I don’t really want to talk about it...but...
Hina: I never killed anyone, and...I never died either, but...I did things that I’m not proud of...I almost got everyone killed...and all because I misunderstood my best friend.
They all forgave me in the end...Often times I wonder if they should have...
They sound like great friends.
Yeah...but I failed them again, even after all that...Hiro’s gone as a result...
...They don’t need me...
I think they do. In fact I think the reason they forgave you back then is because...they’ve always needed you.
What do you mean?
Come on, you’re the coolest one of the group. They need that emotional support.
...I don’t know...
*sigh*
It doesn’t feel good, does it? Looking around, seeing everyone depressed and angry, and sad...Hopeless...Like the sky is gonna collapse on you...You regret not having done more, or done things differently...
How...How did you know?
I’ve been there man...At the end of the Freedom Academy Killing Game, when Feng told us we were all gonna die? I don’t think I’ve ever seen everyone look so defeated...
They all had such...blank expressions...devoid of any kinda emotion. They genuinely believed that the world didn’t care about us or who we were...
[Flashback 2]
Hunter: Maya was always so...loud and energetic, even back then, but in that moment, she was silent...
Hunter: Four had a thousand mile stare...Not looking at anything, just...staring...
Hunter: Even Leona was silent. She in particular had gone through so much she didn’t deserve. She’d become so strong, and so brave over the time we’d spent together, but even she was silent then...
Hunter: Oliver was just as upset...Of course, I would be too if my mother told me anything close to what THEIR mother did...
Hunter: And...even now, I still feel a pain in my chest when I remember how Kouji looked. I was so used to that cute dopey expression...It was so hard to see him so upset...
Sound familiar?
Yeah...You hit it right on the head. I felt the exact same way when I thought that we had been fighting for nothing.
If there’s one thing Junko Enoshima does well, it’s making you feel the worst things in the world. Emilia Feng does the same.
In fact, I’m feeling that Despair right now...I really did think I’d moved past this, but...ever since the Fugitive incident, I feel like...like I’m stuck in quicksand, and I’m clinging to everyone else to save myself, but it’s just dragging them in with me.
Yeah...but...even so...Seeing my friends like that...Feeling that Despair...Knowing that there would be nobody to save us...nobody to care about us...
Back then, I wasn’t about to let them feel that way...
What...happened?
...I convinced ‘em...That Emilia was wrong when she said no one cared about us.
Because we still cared about each other.
[Flashback 2]
Don’t you get it? It’s all hopeless...Everything we fought for; all of our friends who died...None of it matters...None of it...There’s nobody to care about us
That’s wrong! Kokona cared about you! Right!?
What? But...she’s dead...
So what!? Her memory isn’t! She cared about you so much, and you can’t let that love die! Do you wanna give up on her like that!?
Her...memory...? After she died...I kept going because I wanted to make her proud...How could I forget that...?
I...have to keep fighting!
I can’t just let myself die here! I can’t give up on her!
What are you guys talking about...? We did all our investigating; we tried everything we could. After all this time the truth doesn’t even matter...we were doomed this entire time...
Four...Come on man...!
Did my sister feel this same hopelessness? Did she die in the same way? I guess it doesn’t matter anymore...the truth doesn’t matter...because we’re going to die either way...
Dammit Four! You can’t give up on the truth!
Do you think we can seriously change the fact that we’re going to die? We’re going to be just like all the other people the Fang killed for her own ends...
No! The truth is always worth it!
That’s what we’ve been fighting for this entire time!
We have this chance, and it’s higher than none! We can still do this! You can’t give up! You’ve been fighting since the beginning!
The truth...what I’ve been looking for since we got here...
...I suppose this is what I’ve been working towards my entire life...
All the more reason you can’t give up on it bro!
Right...After all that hard work and effort...I guess it’s a bit difficult just to give up like that...
I don’t know about this “last chance” of yours Hunter, but if you think it’s enough to fight for...then I’ll do it. I’ll hold onto that possibility until my last breath leaves my body.
Welcome back Four...
Now...what about YOU?
Me? Why? I was never your friend...And it appears I was nothing to my own mother as well...she doesn’t care about me...I was just...a pawn...a piece of apparatus in this game...None of it ever mattered...I was nothing more than a pig, being prepared for the slaughter. Nobody ever cared about me...
Oliver...you’re wrong...
What?
You say nobody ever cared about you, but we’re all still right here! You wanna know something?
I forgive you! Even if you’re the “Mastermind” or...whatever the fuck that means you’re still our friend! I am NOT gonna give up on you!
You all...cared about me...?
Even after...all this?
Hell yeah dude! We’ve always been pals! Even now!
Pals...I’ve...I’ve never had “pals” before...I was raised for the sole purpose of being in this game...
If...you guys really still accept me...even after all of this...then maybe there really are people out there that care about me? My mother may have given up on me, but I’m still my own human! I’m not something that she owns! I don’t have to do what she says!
Fuck yeah! Teenage rebellion!
...
...
*Hunter steps out from behind his podium and approaches Kouji. He takes his hand, as Kouji rests his face in Hunter’s chest.
My family...I don’t even know where they are...These people have total control over us...They’ll never let us go...What’s the point? Why even bother? There’s nobody to save us now...
Kouji...that’s not true...
I won’t let anything happen to you...not if I can help it...
*He kisses him gently on the head.
I love you man. As long as I’m here, I won’t let you give up.
Hunter...
Heh...I must be pretty dumb, huh?
This whole time, I’ve been the one talking about never giving up. With you around, I never felt like I was in any danger...I guess I forgot about that...
You...make me feel safe...
But don’t think you can say you’ll just keep me safe like it’s nothing! I’m gonna protect you too!
I know that we’ve got each other’s backs! I can’t ever forget that!
Are you guys seriously having a romantic anime scene in the middle of this...!? Are you all crazy or something...!?
Maya...
She’s made it pretty clear what’s gonna happen to us...They’re gonna kill us. We don’t have any Hope left...Do you seriously think we have any chance? Do you seriously think we can do anything?
There’s nothing! Nothing at all! This world doesn’t care about us! NOBODY cares about us!
Who the fuck cares!?
!!??
Maya...it may be true that the world at large doesn’t care about us...If you take NHC’s power into consideration, they pretty much control the world...
But even if the world doesn’t care about us, it doesn’t matter! Because we care about each other! Let your promise with Caesar be proof of that!
...!?
I...I did make a promise...
I promised that I wouldn’t give up!
All of you...All of you are my friends...! The world may have it out for us...but I’ve got all of you on my side!
So who gives a damn about what the world thinks!? I’m Maya-Goddamn-Canzanilla! When I see a wall, I tear it down!
Welcome back...
Right after that is when Oliver pulled out their trump card. You know the rest of the story.
Hunter...I had...no idea...
Yep, gets tough sometimes. You get major back pains when you spend so long carrying this team.
Hehehe...You’re just like Makoto, you know that?
Still...it can’t be easy...Being that pillar of support that keeps the rest of them going...
I knew Maya had some esteem issues about her mission, but...now I see you’re the reason she kept going...
Hina, you gotta understand something...It’s...sweet and honorable that you didn’t wanna drag your friends into the quicksand...
But if they’re your friends...and I mean they’re REALLY your friends...Then you gotta understand that they’ll happily dive right into the sand with you.
That’s how Hiro saw it when he sacrificed himself...And that’s how I saw it when I did all that shit...
You saved everyone’s lives...
...And I’d do it again...and again...even if I spent an eternity suffering, watching the people I love die...
The Killing Game that Emilia put us through was the worst thing that ever happened to me in my whole life, but I wouldn’t change a damn thing about it...
Why not?
Because the Freedom Foundation are the people I love most in the universe...and because I love them...I’m willing to do anything for them. Because that’s what you’ve gotta do.
...Even if it hurts you? Or hurts them?
Pfft...ESPECIALLY then. And I think you know that well...
You loved...what was her name...Sakura, so much...that you were willing to get every other person killed to avenge her.
But that’s not what she wanted.
Yeah, it wasn’t...but even if that’s the case, you still tried to do it. That’s proof right there...that you’re a good friend. The best in fact.
And uh...between you and me...you’re definitely my favorite of your group.
Hehehe...
You’re good at this Hunter...
So I’m told...
Listen Hina. I didn’t come here to convince you to rejoin the Future Foundation. If you don’t think you’re cut out for it, or you don’t want to shoulder that responsibility, then I’m not gonna be the one who forces it upon you.
All I’m saying is that you should come back and talk to Kyoko about how you feel. Not as a Future Foundation branch chief, but as her best friend. I don’t think I ever saw that icy shell of hers crack until you left...I didn’t like what I saw, so that’s why...
I...
Don’t start blaming yourself. You can make this right. Just come back, and tell Kyoko how you feel, WITHOUT storming off before giving her a chance to speak.
*Hunter holds out a hand.
Now...we’ve got work to do...
...
*Hina takes his hand.
[Present day, Freedom Academy]
UGH! Even with backup, this is still infuriating!
We can’t see the enemies, but if we apply enough force, it breaks the camouflage! But the truck alone isn’t enough!
In that case, it’s time for Plan P!
Plan P!? Why P!?
HUNTER!
Oh! Is it time!?
Let’s do this!
What are you guys doing?
*Hina doesn’t answer. She and Hunter reach behind their backs and pull out the same object.
Are those...Super Soakers?
You’re gonna attack them with toy water guns!?
Heehee! We sure are! But it’s not water in these guns...
You ready!?
Always!
HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!
*SPLASH!* *SPLASH!* *SQUIRT!*
Soldier: Wah-!?
!!?
*Hina and Hunter start shooting the water guns in every direction they can. But what comes out of the nossel isn’t water. Instead, ink squirts out of the cannon, and douses the invisible soldiers, making them visible.
Worked like a charm!
Now let’s get ‘em!
*Hunter and Hina pose, and then continue to douse as many enemies as they can in the ink.
Marisha: I can’t let it happen…and without her…it doesn’t… …Maya…I’m about to do something awful…
*The sound can be heard of a machine gun being loaded.
Marisha: Or at least, people will say it’s awful. If they knew what we did, maybe they’d think better of me!
Marisha: They wouldn’t think of us as monsters or terrorists! …But I need to stop THIS terrorist, no matter the cost! So if you’re listening to this message…then you know what happened to me…
Marisha: I’m…I’m SORRYYY!
???: There she is!
Marisha: HAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGH!
*The recording cuts out with the sound of screaming and rapid gunfire…
...Marisha...
*The Freedom Foundation finish listening to the recording. Once they do, Maya slams her face on the table.
D...DAMMIIIIIITT!!
...
...
What the hell...?
I must reward this Marisha person on their cleverness. Their method of getting this message to you was ingenious.
What do you mean?
I’ve had time to think on it, but it seems that this USB doesn’t just work as a hard drive.
Based on the way it’s shaped...it also functions as a bullet.
What!?
If you want my hypothesis, Marisha was almost killed by the Fang Inc. soldiers. But before they could get to her, she recorded this and put it in the hard drive. She then hid the drive in the bullet, and shot herself in the head so that the soldiers wouldn’t immediately find the recording.
But wait, you’re not answering the most important question. Who IS Marisha!?
*Byakuya turns to the Freedom Foundation.
Considering she seemed to know Maya, I would guess that she’s a friend of the Freedom Foundation’s.
I suggest asking them...but I also suggest maybe giving them some time to recover.
...No need. We promised no more secrets, right?
*Four, depressed and rubbing Maya’s back to console her as she cries into her arms, turns towards the Future Foundation.
Marisha Filliet is her full name. Remember how Maya said we had a contact inside Fang Inc?
Yeah...that was her...
Filliet...If I remember correctly, that’s...?
Yeah...One of the victims of the Killing Game we were in was Maria Filliet...Marisha is her half-sister.
She was one of the few people who we told the truth about what happened in the Killing Game. She was mortified, and wanted to help us, but Maya didn’t want to get her too involved.
Marisha was insistent though, so we gave her a job. We asked her to get hired into Fang Inc. and leak information about their plans to us. Whatever she could get her hands on.
...I shouldn’t have done that...I should’ve just said no...
Maya...This isn’t your fault dammit...
But it is! I should’ve just put my foot down! I should never have gotten her involved! And now she’s dead, and it’s on me!
For fucks sake, it’s not like YOU shot her!
Kuripa, hey! J-Just calm down!
I CAN’T JUST CALM DOWN!
Didn’t you hear what Filiet said!? Not only is she now dead, but Emilia Feng was baiting us the entire time! The Kerokuma’s could drop down and kill all of us at ANY MOMENT!
Emilia’s just waiting for that government confrontation, and then with the push of a button, BAM! She’s queen of the whole country!
Well, then we’d better hurry up and destroy them! Isn’t that what we planned to do anyway?
We need the schematics for the building to even get close to the project database, and even if we had that, it’s hopeless anyway...
Why!?
Komaru, didn’t you hear what Marisha said? “Even if the Kerokuma’s themselves are destroyed, she has a program that will automatically re-engineer the AI and produce thousands more at the drop of a hat.”
It might take a few months at least, but no matter what we do, Emilia will get the project back on it’s webbed feet...
It’s over...There’s nothing we can do...It’s all over...
You’re just gonna give up!? After all this, you’re just gonna turn around and stop fighting!?
What’s the point of fighting!? Even if we destroy the Kerokuma’s my mother will just build them again and again, faster than we can destroy them! We can’t just lose any more lives!
...I can’t take it anymore...I just can’t...
Marisha died...Hiro got kidnapped...I don’t want anyone to get hurt anymore.
No...No I agree with Komaru...
We can’t give up! We’ve come way too far to give up!
Hunter...
This is the exact same rut we all got stuck in at the end of the Killing Game! We all were willing to give up on hope, just because Emilia told us we were gonna die! But we stuck it to that bitch! What’s stopping us from doing it again, huh!?
Even now, we’ve got the impression that it’s all hopeless! Well even if you guys back down, I won’t!
Hunter, I love you...but you can’t do this by yourself...!
Then help me, god dammit! Don’t go giving up on me just because of one little hurdle!
Hunter’s right. You can’t give up on hope.
Oh, here we go...
What?
*Makoto steps forward.
Lately, times have been harsh. We’ve gained enemies and lost allies...we have seen uncertainty and Despair rise.
Yet, amid said Despair, we have survived. And YOU have survived just as we have against Fang Inc. all this time, by yourselves no less.
Remember, some challenges are more significant than you; you need your team. Let them lift you. We need to outthink, outwork and outcare for each other.
So don’t start blaming yourselves, don’t put pressure on yourselves, and most importantly...Don’t. Start. Giving. Up.
Our direction may seem messy and confusing, and may seem like we can’t get anywhere, but I KNOW we can. We aren’t gonna give up Hope, not now, not ever.
...
*Maya stands up and wipes her eyes and nose with her sleeve.
...Did you practice this or something...?
No ma’am. That’s a Naegi special. Not sure if I ever told you this, but I like to think I’m quite good at motivational speeches.
I agree with that...But even so...believing in ourselves doesn’t present a conclusion.
We still have no way of destroying the Kerokuma Initiative. And hope and belief won’t give us one.
Then why don’t I give you one?
Huh?
Boss...you have a plan?
Something like that...I think we’re thinking about this the wrong way.
We’re focusing on the idea of destroying the Kerokuma Initiative robots, but the algorithm Emilia put in place will mean that she’ll always have a way of revitalizing the project...
If that’s the case...then instead of destroying the Kerokuma’s, why don’t we FIX them instead?
“Fix” them?
Yeah! Oliver, you’ve already wrote programs and hacked into databases before. Is there any chance you can retro-engineer a more suitable algorithm to replace the one the robots currently have?
I...didn’t think of that...but it might be possible...
Hey, why don’t I do you one better? Instead of making an algorithm, why don’t we make some kind of virus the break the current one? Then the robots will be totally inactive!
That might be more difficult...but again...Not impossible.
What...!? Why the hell didn’t you mention that earlier Ollie!?
I don’t know, it just didn’t come to mind. I thought wiping the current data would be more than enough, so I didn’t think the effort was needed.
But if it’s come down to this, I might be able to do it!
See? There’s always a way!
Heh. You underestimate Boss’s tenacity. “Give Up” isn’t in his dictionary.
That’s a bit of an overexaggerating, but thank you.
I...I don’t know...I still feel like there’s a few issues.
How so?
Well, first of all, Oliver will need time to make the virus, right? And given that Emilia plans on launching the Kerokuma’s when the Government confront her, that means we’re on a time budget, right?
Byakuya. Toko. Do you guys know when it is that the Government plans to confront Feng?
No...But if I had to guess, I’d say we have a minimum of 2 days...
I can make a virus in roughly 24 hours, give or take. Faster if I really try.
But that’s still a whole day wasted. We’d only have a day to do everything.
And that’s not the only issue, in order to erase the data, we’d still have to break into the building OZ are using as a base and get to the Kerokuma algorithm in order to download the virus.
But with the attack at the docks, we weren’t able to get the building schematics...
Says who?
Huh?
*Kyoko reaches into her pocket and pulls out a USB.
You didn’t honestly think that I was going to forget the whole reason we went there, right?
You got it!?
I downloaded the data after the soldiers took Hiro away. That meant nobody would stop me.
It’s not good to use my friends kidnapping as a card, but...well, I won’t justify myself.
Anything else Kouji?
I’ve got one...What the hell does this all accomplish?
Huh?
Let’s say that we do permanently shut down the Kerokuma project, and Emilia is left having to start completely from scratch.
It’ll take a while, sure, but you know what she’ll end up doing to those Government guys if she can’t take them out with the robots? She’ll just pay them off, go about her business, and start all over again.
Maya’s right. Like Marisha said in the recording, the Kerokuma Initiative will stay alive so long as Emilia Feng is in power. It’ll take years, but Emilia will more than happily get the project back on it’s feet. She won’t allow anyone to jeopardize it for her.
That’s a good point. There’s no point taking Emilia out. All she’ll do is pay off the Government, investigators and news reporters, then go crying to public to make herself look like the victim.
That’s how she’s always done it, and the shitty part is that it always works.
It’s what she does. She scares the shit out of people, then swoops in and plays the hero.
However...if you think about it, that also means that she’s leaving her biggest weakness wide open to us.
Huh?
What do you mean?
I mean...her public image...
Emilia is obsessed with how the public views her, and with all the illicit things she does behind their back, it makes sense.
If we shatter that, and show the world for what she well and truly is, she and her entire empire falls apart.
Easier said than done. We’ve tried doing that in the past, but she’s always found a way to cover it up.
But...do you remember how this whole fiasco started?
Huh?
This incident, and our collaboration with the Future Foundation started for one key reason...We found evidence of Fang Inc’s. union with Organization Zetsubou.
No matter how you look at it, teaming up with world famous terrorists isn’t something that you can just cover up.
Yeah, but at the same time, all we’ve got proving it is a few documents. That alone doesn’t prove the crime.
It’s more like the documentation you provide in court to emphasize your point, not solve your case.
Hm...yes...we’ll certainly need to find something more concrete.
*BZZZT!* *BZZZT!*
Huh?
*Makoto’s phone suddenly starts to ring. It’s an unknown number. Kuripa leans over his shoulder to look.
...That doesn’t look safe.
But it might be important. I should answer.
*He answers.
Hello?
???: Makoto. It’s me.
Who is this?
Whitecloak: It’s Whitecloak. Could you put me on speaker?
Sure...
*Makoto puts his phone in the center of the table.
Whitecloak: I assume everyone’s listening in now, so I’ll keep this brief. I may have found something that would suit your interests.
We’re listening?
Whitecloak: I can’t go into too much detail, but I found a news story that Fang Inc. covered up. It’s about an infamous, underground reporter, who went missing a short while ago.
Went missing you say?
Whitecloak: Yes. However, what piqued my interest is that said reporter was planning a...scandalous...episode of her podcast before she vanished. I don’t know enough details about it, but I would request some help to investigate. I believe she may be referring to the company’s collaboration with Zetsubou.
Really!?
No, fuck that! There’s no way that something this convenient can just be dropped on us!
Whitecloak: Hmhmhm...That’s Makoto Naegi’s luck for you. I can’t promise anything key, but you know what this means should it turn out to be what I expect, right?
You grow more useful by the second...
Hehe...
If her info is legitimate, Feng would spin whatever was spinnable. If she went after her for it, then whatever’s she discovered is a smoking gun.
Which means we need to chance it!
Right...At this point, it’s all or nothing.
Thanks Whitecloak. We’ll get back to you.
Whitecloak: I’ll DM you the location I’d like to meet you. Until then...
