We are the chick. The world is our egg. Let's play Kara no Shoujo.

Song 13

Strange Insects

(NOW we are Reiji again.)



Yukari shakes me awake.

Reiji: "Hunh? Ahh, it's morning...?"

Yukari: "There's a phone call for you, Nii-san."

Reiji: "A phone call... From whom?"



Reiji: "The vice-principal...?"

I wonder what it could be.



Reiji: "Hello? Sorry to keep you waiting---"

Saeki: "Yes, Tokisaka-sensei... I'm afraid something terrible has happened.."

Reiji: "Vice-Principal? What's the matter?"

I readjust the receiver and listen carefully.

Saeki: "Well... Yesterday, Kuchiki Toko-san got into an accident..."

Reiji: "What!? An accident...?"

Saeki: "Yes... She was hit by a truck in front of the academy..."

The bottom drops out of my stomach.

Reiji: "And... How's her condition...?"

Saeki: "It looks like she's survived. However, her injuries are severe, and she's currently hospitalized at the Kuchiki Pathological Research Institute in Nakano."

Reiji: "...I see. Thanks for making the effort to contact me."

Somehow, I'm able to keep my voice calm.

Saeki: "...I'm heading over to the hospital right now. What will you ----"

Reiji: "I'm going too. I'll see you later."

I set down the receiver.



Yukari's face is a mask of concern.

Reiji: "It seems that Toko ---- That Kuchiki-san got into an accident."

Yukari: "Kuchiki-san... was in an accident!?"

Reiji: "Yeah, an accident. ... Not a murder."

A traffic accident. She hasn't ended up like the others.

Reiji: "...But in the end, I don't suppose it makes much difference."

... Right now, I'm worried about Toko's condition.

Reiji: "---I'm heading out. Yukari, you're going to school."

Yukari: "Okay..."

I head for Nakano, trying to ignore the despondent look on her face.

///

Saeki is already at the Kuchiki Pathological Research Institute when I arrive.

Reiji: "Vice-Principal---"



Saeki looks pretty composed, all things considered.



(Image 2000)

Reiji: "Hello, Kuchiki-san..."

Fumiya looks haggard. He was probably here all night, since he's family.

Fumiya; "...Thanks for coming all the way over here."

Reiji: "Not at all----"

I look over at Chizuru, seated behind him. She looks even worse than him. She hangs her head, staring at the floor. More like a soulles husk than a person.

Voice: "Ah - Is Toko...?!"

(high-pitched and upset voice - we know who this is)


Her shoulders are heaving. She must have run all the way from the station.

Reiji: "Mizuhara-san..."



Reiji: "Calm down. ... It's all right. Kuchiki-san's just fine."

As I say that, I look into Fumiya's face. He gives a slight nod.



Fumiya: "---I'll go get my father now."

Fumiya heads down the corridor.

After a little while, Fumiya returns and leads us to the director's office.

Slumped in his chair, Dr. Kuchiki looks as fatigued as his son.



Reiji: "For the moment...?"

Dr. K: "...Yes. We can see damage to a portion of her spinal cord. She'll probably be paralyzed in her lower limbs... In addition, she has fractured bones throughout her body, and treating those will be difficult."

After saying that, Yasutada looks downward.

Dr. K: "...She regained consciousness this morning, but---"



Mizuhara, silent until now, raises her voice to ask a question.

Dr. K: "She can, but... I'll have to ask you to make a promise."

Toko2: "What is it?"

Dr. K: "I'd like you all to keep quiet about what I've just told you regarding her condition."

Toko2: "Eh...?"

Reiji: "Toko doesn't know yet?"



Toko2: "...I understand."

Mizuhara nods.

Toko is lying upon a bed. Her face, sticking out from under the futon, shows no sign of damage. Her arm, however, is swathed in several thick layers of bandages.

It looks like she's just sleeping.



Mizuhara runs to the bedside.

Toko2: "Toko! Open your eyes, Toko!!"

Toko: "---I can hear you, Toko."

(Her voice is soft and breathy.)

Toko slowly opens her eyes.

Toko2: "Tooo-koooo!!!"

Toko: "Hehe... It looks like I've made you worry, Toko..."

Toko2: "Um... Umm, I..."

Tears drip from Mizuhara's face.

Toko: "...I want to hold you, but my arms won't move for some reason... Nuts."



Toko: "Let me see your face a little better. I can't move my neck."

Toko2: (crying) "Okay... Okay..."

Mizuhara leans a little closer.

Toko: "... You shouldn't be crying, Toko. You're too cute to spoil it with that."

Toko2: "Toko!!"

Mizuhara collapses by the bed like a dropped puppet.

Toko: "... Is Tokisaka-sensei there?"

Reiji: "---Yeah."

Toko: "Could you... come over here?"

I do as she requests, moving right over to her side. Toko looks up at me.

Toko: "Sensei... I'm sorry for worrying you..."

Her voice comes out feeble and hoarse. Not like the ringing of a bell at all.

Reiji: "Toko..."

I gently lay my hand on her cheek. Toko's skin is icy cold. --- Almost as though there's no blood circulating beneath it.

Toko: "Sensei, your hand... is so warm..."

Toko closes her eyes. The tears trickle from her eyes to settle on my fingers.

Reiji: "...Just rest for now, and recover your strength."

Toko: "Yeah..."

I quietly step back from Toko's side and exit, leaving Mizuhara and the others behind me.



Reiji: "Vice-Principal... You're certain that her accident happened in front of the academy?"

Saeki: "Yes, what of it..?"

Reiji: "You wouldn't happen to know any other details, would you?"



Reiji: "...It didn't seem like that from how she just looked."

Saeki: "...Yeah, you're right."

Saeki nods gravely.

Reiji: "But then, why---"



Fumiya joins in our conversation as he emerges from Toko's room.

Reiji: "Anemia..."



Reiji: "...And why was that?"



Reiji: "...So she had an anemia attack, and then staggered into the road?"

Voice: "That can't be---"

It's someone right behind me.



Reiji: "Mizuhara-san...?"

Toko2: "It can't be... It can't be..."

Reiji: "Are you okay...?"

Toko: "I... I... Umm, ex-excuse me..."

Keeping her eyes fixed on the floor, Mizuhara walks past me and away.

After all that's happened, this sudden behavior piques my interest.



(Choose!)

I kind of want to leave her be right now, but would we get any information re. where she hid the medicine if we chased after her? (Then again I'm not sure what good asking her that would do, given that the damage is already done...).

Chase after her! I'm getting the feeling that she might kill herself for making this mistake, we can't just let her go.

Chase after her and punch her in the fucking face.

QFT

In all honesty, though, this entire plot point feels really contrived. I mean, Toko2 has to make really big jumps in logic to want to throw away Toko1's medicine. I get that she's jelly of Reiji and stuff, but not only did she not see Reiji hand over the meds (which he didn't), but it's also medicine that she's been taking daily, so why didn't Toko2 recognize that it was Toko1's medicine? And why didn't Toko2 look at the ampoule or syringe to see if it had a medicinal label on it before throwing it away, since Toko2 should know that Toko1 is habitually sick?

My head hurts.

Is there some in-story way to prevent Toko2 from stealing Toko1's meds, or preventing Toko1 from fainting in the middle of a road?

I think this is just the game's way of telling us that Toko2 is batshit insane. Goddamn yanderes.

There's a lot of stuff that happens for no good reason, and some things that are just bloody impossible or never explained at all. Others are only explained in certain paths, which can be really frustrating if you're in one of the angles where it was left hanging.

For this particular plot element, though... it has been established that Toko2 is getting a bit unhinged lately, as we've seen from our jaunts into her perspective.

She does know that Toko is fragile, but as far as most people at school are concerned, Toko just needs to lie down and rest for a while like she did when we were on our museum adventure.

We can hypothesize that Toko1 has not been bothering to tell Toko2 any useful information about her illness or her medicine. Toko1 is a bit secretive for no good purpose at times, and Toko2, despite her worship of her friend, doesn't seem to know her that well outside of school and art and going for walks in the park. She'd never been to her house until we took her there, as I recall? She doesn't seem to have any idea about Toko's adoption fears. Toko doesn't tell her when she cuts school, or why. She certainly doesn't know about the latest weird thing that happened with Toko and the "miracle baby no father" rumor.

What *did* Toko2 see that day? Toko1 was supposed to meet her and was late. Toko2 went looking for her and found her hiding in a stairwell with a syringe, looking dazed. Toko1 then refused to talk about it and went home by herself, telling Toko2 she wanted to be alone. It's kinda weird for Toko2 to assume "drugs, definitely" but it's not impossible.

(When I initially read the theft sequence, I thought at first that Toko2 *knew* it was medicine and was destroying it in the hopes of leaving Toko helpless and dependent so she wouldn't 'get away' from Toko2. Yandere Misery behavior.)

Let's chase after her!

(So, we choose to chase after Toko, and...)



(... switch viewpoints again.)








(fade to black)

Reiji: "---Mizuhara-san."



Reiji: "...Ah, thank goodness. So you were awake?"



Reiji: "She's in the living room. I came here because I wanted to ask you something."

Toko: "...What's that?"

Reiji: "You don't have to be so tense. It's about Kuchiki-san."

Toko: "Toko..."

Reiji: "Had you noticed anything different about her recently?"



Reiji: "Hurting... Do you think that was because of her illness?"

Toko: "No... Well, I had no idea that she was sick..."

Reiji: "I see... So you didn't know she normally carried her medicine with her?"



Reiji: "Hmm ---- So you wouldn't have noticed if she threw that medicine away, then..."

Toko: "...Ah, was it... a syringe?"

Reiji: "Yeah. She had an ampoule of medicine as well ----"



(THAT LIAR LIES)

Reiji: "---What did you say?"



(... and even thinks to cover for her fingerprints being on it.)

Reiji: "...You threw it away?"

Toko: (choked up) "Y-yeah... But I had no idea it was something so important... Toko..."

Reiji: "It's all right, don't cry. But if she let you throw it away... Damn, there's no way for me to check that either..."



Reiji: "...It seems that her post-surgery recovery hasn't been too great. She's heavily sedated for the moment. They may have to operate on her again."

Toko: "...I see."

Reiji: "Thanks, Mizuhara-san. Sorry for intruding - see you later."

(fade to black, then...)



(... you pretty much expected that by now, right?)

A yandere and a liar. Wonderful.

Mizuhara-san: "Okay... Oh, there was a phone call from your teacher. He said that Kuchiki-san's having surgery, so if you're going to visit, it'll have to wait until after tomorrow."

Toko: "---Okay."

Toko turns and goes back into her room.



If Toko dies, then what will I have left to live for?

It's a terrifying thought.

What will I do when she's gone ---?

"Tell me... Toko..."

Toko moans, buried in her futon.

If Toko disappears, then my Toko will ----

(Toko2's original high-pitched timid voice...)



Egg Voice: "Please... Toko..."

Toko: "...Could you shut up for a bit, Toko?"

I don't bother to keep the displeasure from my voice.

Egg Voice: "Ahh! I'm... I'm sorry..."

---- She's completely spineless.

So Toko had something like this tagging along behind her.

Toko: "Will you quiet down if I find your body for you?"

Egg Voice: "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

I jab at the shell of the egg.

Egg Voice: "Ahh! Stop, if it breaks, I'll..."

---- I could get used to this.

Toko: "---Oh, all right. I'll search for your body for you."

I bask in this new feeling of superiority.

Toko: "So where's your body?"

Egg Voice: "Just up ahead... Just keep going, and collect a body from the sinners..."

Toko: "...What, you're going to patch one together?"

I jeer at her.

Toko: "Well then, let's be off. Off on a journey to find your body----"

I start walking, cradling the black egg.

After passing through that solemn gate, I see a large crowd of people lying down on the ground, writhing about.

Toko: "What are you doing?"

Groaning Male Voice: "Ahhh... Please, help me... I'm under endless attack from bees and flies."

Toko: "Well, that's too bad for you. But I can't do anything about that."

Groaning Male Voice: "Ahhhh, why..."

Insects feast upon the despairing sinners' limbs. In short order the limbs are devoured, leaving the assorted souls with only their torsos.

I pick one of them up and push it into the center of the black egg.

Toko: "Will this do?"

The me inside the egg seems to be delighted.

Egg Voice: "Ahh... Thanks. But, that's still not enough..."

Toko: "Living the high life now, aren't you? ... I get it. I'll find the rest for you."

All aboard the non-stop ride to crazytown!

What the-

my mind

it hath broken

so.

uh.

Mizuhara Toko is the culprit? Is that it? I just. What. I think I'm just going to go to bed now.

yeah, i'm leaving it here for the night so people have enough time to go whaaaaaaaat.

I think someone had a little too much fun reading The Egg of Neanis... (or possibly Shell of Sheol, I'm not quite sure.)

...yikes.

(And at this point, cheerful normal everyday soundtrack kicks in. Everything's fine!)















Toko: "Why, hello... Tokisaka-sensei."

Upon hearing my greeting, his expression turns troubled.

Toko: "What's wrong, Sensei? Won't you love me like always?"

I move close to Sensei and press my body up against him.

It doesn't feel improper at all.

That's because I'm Toko ----

(content warning holy fuck)

Toko: "Sensei, is it really that awful to sleep with me...?"

I open my desk drawer and take out a knife I use to sharpen pencils.

Toko: "Well, I guess I have no choice then. I'm going to kill myself."

I press the blade of the knife to my throat.

The touch of the cold metal brings me back to my senses for a second. Tokisaka-sensei is staring at me.

Yes... Just like that. The face of a man at a loss for what to do - unable to budge, with no way of knowing what will happen.

(and then at the end:)

I bend over and kiss him on the lips.

Toko: "I love you, Sensei."

... Even now, Sensei doesn't say anything.

Toko sees a light-blue blur approaching her.

And the moment she realizes that it's a large truck ----



Toko's body tumbles to the ground.

The truck crushes her beneath its tire, as easily as if it were a weightless feather.





---- I wonder what happened.

My body won't move.

Toko stares at the gates of the academy from an unusually low perspective.

The cloud of dust stings her eyes.

Far away, someone is running toward her.

That's ----

(fade to black)

Toko1's Voice: "Hey there... Toko."

Toko2's Voice: "Toko...?"

Toko1: "How'd it feel, pretending to be me?"

Toko2: "I wasn't pretending... Can't you see that I'm Toko?"

Toko1: "But I'm right here. You, on the other hand, are Mizuhara Toko."

Toko2: "Ahh... I see how it is... If Toko is still around, then there's no way I can be Toko..."

Toko1: "Hehe.... Have a nice rest, Toko..."

Toko2: "Sure... Thanks, Toko..."

(fade to white)

what the fuck

what

oh my god Reiji

oh my god you poor baby *huggles Reiji and never lets go ;A;*

...we totally fucked up at that last decision point, didn't we. Fuck.

Pretty much this. D: We might not have died, but that was a nasty Bad End.

I'm guessing that it's if we chase after Mizuhara that she cracks...? (Well, more than before, anyway).

Maybe if we didn't chase after her we would have gotten information that would've somehow prevented us from getting into this... this... I don't even know what to call it.

Or maybe we went to the wrong locations (we didn't get much information out of Ouba... though we DID get that pendant from Stella, so...)

This outcome has been a long time in the making. I've been quite intentionally steering you to it for ages and biting my nails hoping it was going to work. Almost lost it at one point and had to step in and put you back on track (I told you not to trust my ulterior motives!)

Basically, this little pathlet is what I consider to be a flaw in the game design because of opposing goals. It's a meaningful Bad End with a lot of content and insight into Toko2, but it's only really effective if you see it before you have any idea what's going on with the rest of the story. It should be encountered at this point in the playthrough. And would be, if that choice to chase after Toko were available in the main plot... most people, at that point, knowing perfectly well that she's responsible for the disaster, would pursue her.

However, to get the option to chase Toko2 at that juncture, you either have to have been blessed by the gods of random or to have been intentionally trying to pursue her ALL GAME LONG. When did we first step onto Toko2's "path"? Waaaaaaaay back when we encountered Toko2 and her mother arguing outside the museum. You guys chose to butt in and talk to Toko2 about it (not that she appreciated it). That first step wasn't something I planned for, but when I realised it was possible to get here, I've been nudging slightly since. From then on out we have carefully managed to hit every single one of Toko2's map events.

This is our "reward". This is her h-scene.

Well... If you're playing this game like a hentai collector, trying to 'win' each girl, then the design makes some vague degree of sense... but only at the expense of the story. And if you're playing this game for the h-scenes, that's pretty disturbing in itself, considering how extremely screwed up most of them are, ESPECIALLY this one.

If I were writing it I would make pursuing Toko2 at that point an option whether you'd "unlocked" her or not.

If you had chosen not to chase Toko at that final juncture, I would still have shown you this outcome as a "what if", because I'd been anticipating it for too long.

Similarly, since I have slightly cheated to get you here, I do intend to step away from the crazy and carry on with the story. In a little while. I must gloat over my evil victory first.

(The more screaming, commentary, and conjecture posted about what the real plot is, the more I will be enticed to jump back into the story!)

Goddamnit, gegi.

If I were designing this, I'd probably have the option be available regardless, but have the ending modified depending on whether or not you have been pursuing her the entire game. Maybe if you HAVEN'T been pursuing her you actually fight back, thus escaping the rape scene, but if you HAVE, you lie there, broken and crying, emotionally unable to resist as she rapes you.

...........................TOKO 2 WHY ARE YOU SO FUCKED UP WHYYYYYYYYYYYY

Also I hate caterpillars OTL

Oh, man, diabolical! I agree that it was worth seeing for the (creepy) insight into Toko2, but...eep. I'd say I wish we had stumbled onto a nice, safe Kyoko route instead, but now I'm afraid that if there is a Kyoko route, it's also crazy depressing. So maybe it's a good thing that we didn't.

So if the choice whether to pursue Toko2 or not was the pivotal one, I guess Toko1's accident "actually" happens in the main storyline? Or would Toko2 not even steal the medicine if we hadn't been interacting with her?

Either way, while what's happened to Toko1 is awful, it doesn't seem like it's directly connected to the murders. So I'd say the real plot is probably that we have to keep looking for the killer while she's being treated.

Toko1's accident is in the main plot (and unavoidable) - choosing not to chase Toko2 should put us back on track for the "real" story.

Where's a 'just as planned' macro when you need one. |D; Very diabolical!

Think I'd agree that it was a very informative bad end for its insight into Mizuhara, but it sure was some creepy insight. :'D Sad to know that Toko1's accident is unavoidable, though; as royalmilktea says, it seems that the real plot will be that we have to continue to investigate whilst she's being treated. It seems that her condition doesn't get much better, though, unless that's a bad end-only thing. ;

Either way, it would be good to find a way to avoid... well, that happening.

(Also, I'm guessing that Mizuhara's delusions involving the egg were as a result of having read too much of Katsuragi's works and her dubious sanity as opposed to having anything to do with the murders, given that Kusaka was the one who was following the 'assemble a body from parts' thing? Then again, who knows with this game. Suffering and despair seem to be key parts of it, after all).

... Well...
I... was wondering what her h-scene was like, since people mentioning it were horrified...
... now I know. Well then.

I feel sorry for whoever found her attractive enough to go for her.
And also Reiji.
I am so sorry, Reiji. I would probably have panicked and tried to pin her arms down with my legs or something.

Well, that was certainly something.

(Though, I'm confused why that ends the game, since Reiji is still alive...)

IIRC there are a couple of other bad ends where Reiji is alive but has gone insane, so this might count for that?

Maybe he's too traumatised/broken to continue? I do wonder whether it's implying that Toko1 died as well as Toko2 there...

Yeah, that's how I interpreted it as well. Also, the parallels between her and Toko1's situation almost seem way too similar to be real; maybe it's some kind of hallucination on Toko2's part?

So what basically causes this bad ending is that Toko2 is forced to lie to cover her own ass, she feels guilty about it, and then gives into her delusions as a way of excusing herself from her crimes?

Well, at least the cause and effect is more clear than what happened with that earlier bad end with Orihime.

I presume we're still getting some clues even in the bad endings, and these are really raising my suspicions with regards to Toko2's mom.

With the debt situation, I can see her being forced to cooperate with the criminal (to make those eggs?) in exchange for huge sums of money. The text also mentions that she has a car, and didn't Reiji said that the criminal would need a car to be able to dump Tojiko's body parts at the station unseen?

Ah, that's a good point about the car! And it's interesting that those eggshells keep getting mentioned (and that she's apparently away from home for several days in a row at times). I'm increasingly expecting this to come up in some way, yeah. ;