Part 89: Ei Sekigahara 6

Let’s return to Ei.




Chapter 89: Ei Sekigahara 6





What were we doing again?

Examine Cryptic Note



(One set is the user number, and the other is the password.)

Right, right. Let’s check out that phone booth, then.




Use Cryptic Note on Public Phone



I wonder who would have left a message for me…

Ei. Buddy. Come on, man. You’ve already left a message for yourself twice now. This should be obvious.



Apropos of nothing, I think Ei would make an alright phone phreaker.



Please enter your user number.




Please enter your password.





You have two new messages.

Music: Something’s Fishy (Kikuchi Yukinori)




Ei hears his own voice once more. What a shock.

Turns out I was wrong. There are no outcomes where this ends well. My advice to you is to stop living in the past. You’re responsible for your own future now.

The first message ends, and the second automatically begins.

Hey, it’s me. Well, you. I imagine you’re pretty confused right now. Hearing this message, unable to remember a thing.
……
So… I’ve entrusted a message to a good friend of ours. If you seek him out… you’ll likely find him with Natsuno Minami.

Oh! BJ!

……
*buzzing noise* Looks like I’m out of time. Above all else… Finish the job. It’s for my—for your sake. Understood?

The second message ends.



Consider Natsuno Minami

(If that message from myself was true… then Natsuno Minami is a key figure in all this. She may get me a step closer to recovering my memories. …If I can really believe what I heard, that is. I guess I’d better get my hands on that data unit and find out. I’ll do some investigating of my own on Minami. I just need to find her first. Now, how should I approach this…?)

Consider Iori Fuyusaka

(I wouldn’t mind having Fuyusaka tag along… She may even be able to help me find Natsuno Minami. But… I don’t want to get her mixed up in all this.)

Consider Natsuno Minami

(Wait a minute… When I met up with Fuyusaka this morning… a girl passed by and said she was going to the track room. Wasn’t that Natsuno Minami?)

Wait, this morning? Are you saying you followed Megumi to Juro’s house, shot Juro, got clocked by Miura, possibly got shot with Megumi’s magical gun offscreen, then came back here, got chased by the police, found a self-driving motorcycle, used it to find Okino and remember your brain upload sessions all in one night?




Then I’ll head over to the track room.



She’s still waiting for me…



If anything were to happen to her… I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.






They’re crawling all over campus.








Where can I find someone who’s on the track team?
Oh. Well, we’re on the track team.
Do you need something?



Um…
We have stuff we need to do, sooo…
If you don’t need anything, we’ll be leaving now.

Ei, you weirdo, just use your words!

Use Natsuno Minami on Track Member

Yes! Exactly like that!



Oh… Minami? She went for a run around the school. She hasn’t come back yet.
Yup, that’s right.
Around the school… Got it. Thanks.



Music: Between The Lines (Kikuchi Yukinori)





The one that contained the message to myself… Looks like she goes to this school, too.









Ei, I feel like you have enough experience by this point to recognize an obvious setup.




She’s definitely up to something…





Natsuno Minami…



*punch*




For what!? This asshole just held a gun to your face!





Care to explain what’s going on?
You really forgot everything, huh? Just like Shinonome…
……
That’s why I can’t get a good read on you. Hard to tell whose side you’re on right now.



You lured me all the way over here. What are you planning?
Planning? I thought you came for him… right?
Him?




That’s what showed me the footage of myself.
Wrong.



That unit was a different one supplied by the SIU. They’re the ones who had it say all those things.

So Ei’s been getting manipulated from the start? Well, shit.

SIU?
It’s where those guys in black are from.
How do you… Just who in the world are you?



Are you working with the SIU?
Strictly speaking… no.
…Then why cooperate with them?
Got no choice.



…… So those black suits wanted me to see that footage? …But why?

Consider Yuki Takamiya

(Yuki Takamiya… She delivered the data unit to me near the river bank. She seemed to have known me before I lost my memories.)



This is the data unit I was told to seek out.
There’s a message for you.
…A message?
He asked me to show it to you. So… here it is.
Nat-chan…
……



Music: STAGNATION (Yoshimi Kudo)



Was it because of me?



BJ can be heard speaking in the recording.

I can’t let them get their hands on this information.
My partnership with Ida… My dishonesty… You knew all along… Didn’t you, Miura?
You might not know this… but you’re a terrible liar.
I guess so… Why didn’t you show me the data after it was analyzed? Because you took pity on me?
…Some things are better left unknown.
I disagree. I should know about my own past. No matter how terrible I was… Can you link me to the logs through this message?
Sekigahara…
Please, Miura. Show me the logs from 2188…

Oh god, more of this…



Music: Cognitive Dissonance (Rikako Watanabe)





Wait… 2188!Gouto talking about Chihiro Morimura as a “target”? We’ve seen this before…

…… She’s a former executive of Newmen, Inc.
After she left the company… I allowed her to participate in Shikishima’s project. The project was put on hold, but she continues working on it despite our warnings. Our company will suffer massive losses as a result.
…That’s not the real reason.
Excuse me?
You pushed for the acquisition of Newmen, Inc… And that initiated a backdoor transfer of a large slush fund.
…What’re you basing this on?
Morimura’s interstellar development project. It was one of twelve that were showcased for the acquisition. You used the project as a cover for the real use of your funds. But Morimura’s actions threw a wrench in your plans. If an international agency were to catch wind of the situation… they’ll definitely launch an investigation. And that will put you in danger of losing your position.
…Are you threatening me, Sekigahara?
Like I’d waste my time. I’m an assassin. A professional. If I’m expected to perform my job perfectly… then I need every last detail on my target.
…… Sector 4. It’s another colony that’s still under construction. You’ll find her research lab there. I’ll be heading into orbit myself next month for an inspection. I want the job handled by then. And be discreet. I’ve just sent over security details for Sector 4. You’ll also find a security personnel ID for your use. Eliminate Chihiro Morimura and put an end to the project.
First, I’ll have to confirm receipt of your payment.

The log ends. So, uh… 2188!Ei was sent to kill 2188!Morimura… whose current self is now in love with his own current self. Hilarious. I also don’t quite understand all that boardroom politicking about slush funds, but I get the big picture: Morimura is using funds that were appropriated for embezzlement purposes and if people get wise, Gouto’s fucked.




You came here from the future to kill her? But more importantly…



“Four-eyed”…? Wait, Yuki, that’s not Ida, that’s Gouto… right? Gotta admit, Ida does look more like present Gouto than he looks like Shu….



(Morimura… So I really did do it… No… I wasn’t going after Fuyusaka next, was I? …… And I’ve been lying to Miura… Was it about the change in command? No… That can’t be right…)







Finding you was simply a coincidence. Just like you, I’m now considered deceased. Ever since the battle in Sector 2… I’ve been in hiding.



Knowing you, I figured you’d keep yourself out of trouble.
……

Use DD-426 on Tetsuya Ida



Back on the battlefield in 2064, who used DD-426?
…Someone did his research. Your Sentinel was the source of the infection. So the evidence suggests that you’re the one who used it.
Guess that’s how it looks…
I’m not sure who the real culprit is. However, Chihiro Morimura enacted Operation Aegis after we lost.



To see how things went in Sector 3?
……

Use Operation Aegis on Tetsuya Ida



Just look at this place… What the hell happened?
Sector 3 was used as a trial run of sorts. It was the only terminal tested on. But it was enough to activate the self-defense system. Sector 4 will be the real deal.
The 1980s…

I’m not gonna lie to you guys: the theme song to Clone High got stuck in my head the instant he said that.

Once all the terminals are sealed by the self-defense system… then Operation Aegis will be fulfilled. If that succeeds, we’ll no longer be able to loop. And we can’t let that happen.



There’s that word again, “loop”! Are we finally going to find out what that means?



If we’re unable to loop anymore, that is.

Use Loop on Tetsuya Ida



How is that different from shifting?

Well, shifting is fake and for babies, for one.



Music: Hard Pill to Swallow (Kikuchi Yukinori)




Yeah, we knew that part, but…

Your world never existed prior to 2049.

…That’s definitely new, isn’t it?

…Never existed? But we’re in 2025 right now, aren’t we?
This is neither the past nor the future. That’s how the five sectors were designed. They were created when you arrived from another world.

Wait… is that what the Ei hologram meant by “another dimension”? Huh… I guess that fits.




……

Use Another World on Tetsuya Ida



If there’s really some other world, then prove it.
…I take it you’re aware of Miura’s logs.
Logs?
Logs of the year 2188. I made an interesting discovery after studying the data myself. I learned that the real world is in 2188. We were meant to return there eventually. However… This world is destroyed before that time can come. A tragic incident, indeed. Especially if it was the result of someone’s careless actions.



To gain control over every mainframe in all sectors. Once that’s accomplished, the five sectors will reset. This causes the world to be recreated. And that includes you.

So that must be what 2188!Ryoko did…




Oh man, what the fuuuuuuuuck… I guess even “loops” were fake time travel after all!



Ei’s head is pounding.



……

Ei’s head is pounding.



……

Ei’s head is pounding.

Take Oral NM





For Izumi and Shinonome-kun?
……



However, there is a way for you to survive.



I’ll extract your data from before you lost your memories. Then I’ll take it with me to the recreated world. That should stop the effects of DD-426.
…Can you really do that?

Oh yeah, why not trust this upstanding gentleman right here?

…… So then, what do you need me for?
To make sure we can loop, of course. I intend to stop Operation Aegis so we can start over again. And if I’m going to do that, I’ll need your help.



Still don’t believe me?
Not really…
Well, you will once you see the logs for yourself. I need you to find Sentinel No. 17.
…!
I know he made a copy of it. The data will be useful in the next world. So I’d like to get my hands on it.



Drone?




Yes, but don’t activate it just yet. That’s no ordinary drone. It’s him.
Miura?
It was before the Sentinels were randomly transmitted. He transferred himself into that drone and escaped. I managed to secure him in Sector 2. He doesn’t entirely agree with my methods, though. As such, he’s chosen not to cooperate. It would be best if you told him you saved him from me.
(angry) Come again?
You’re going to convince him that you’ve saved him. Then, you’ll retrieve the data from him.
You’re asking me to lie to him?



But he’s the only one who can track and activate it.
……
For your sake, cooperate. I’ll ensure that Miura comes with us. Above all, this is for you and Shinonome-kun.

Oh, I’m fucking sure, Ida.




I’ve set new coordinates further ahead. Feel free to use that one.
Hang on, I never—
To avoid suspicion, I’ll have my men continue following you.

How is that less suspicious?

They won’t be aware of our plans, however. So try not to get caught. I’m heading back to Sector 4.








I’m glad you’re okay…




So, that was… a lot. We finally found out what loops are, though! I’ll count that as a win!



Another lock for Ei, though we’re not far from unlocking it.






Oh, okay, here’s the explanation of the slush fund thing. I can’t tell if this is more or less confusing than it already was, though.









Here’s our Mystery File updates for this event.



I also remove “What are loops?” and “What is Operation Aegis?” from the board, because we pretty much know at this point. Operation Aegis, if you still need it spelled out, will use the self-defense systems of the sectors to lock down one sector so the kaiju don’t take it over. This will prevent the kaiju from invading, but crucially will also trap everyone, preventing them from looping or even leaving for the world outside.



We also add “Sekigahara is Gouto’s assassin”.



Here’s the board at present.