More Death Games for everyone! Err…no that’s not how I wanted to start this blog post. Anyway, I’m back with yet another game related project. It’s about a Japan only PlayStation Vita/PlayStation 4 visual novel called Tsuihou Senkyo (Exile Election) developed by Nippon Ichi. If you are into games like Danganronpa you have probably heard about this one before because it definitely borrows more than just some ideas from it.
I’m writing about Exile Election on Twitter but I realized it’s not the best place for it because of the annoying character limit. Well, I only planned to do some livetweeting but somehow ended up writing way to much. Now it’s more like a mix of translation and detailed summary. So I decided to put the complete version of the text into a series of blog posts. I’m sure there are some people interested in reading this!
I know, I still have an ongoing project (Tsugino) but it will be on hold for a while longer. Of course, I still plan on finishing it but I’m giving Exile Election priority.
Here’s a short story introduction to give you an idea what this is about:
Exile Election takes place in Aliceland, an amusement park but that doesn’t mean this is a fun and happy story. No, what awaits you here’s a cruel fate because the mascot character Alice is playing a deadly game with twelve chosen people. They aren’t here on their own free will and if they refuse to take part the monsters lurking outside will devour them.
Alice wants them to hold an election. The person with the most votes has to leave this place which means they will be killed. This goes on until only two of them are left. What’s the purpose of this game? What are those man-eating monsters? What happened to the world? There are many questions unanswered within this unbelievable sounding situation.
—
That’s all I’ll say for now. I don’t want to give away too much at this point.
Anyway, let’s start this thing. Have fun! (reading my crappy English haha)
Prologue:
Scene Title: Awakening
The protagonist Kaname Ichijou slowly regains consciousness and immediately hears a strange, childish sounding voice. It’s says that it has something important to tell and since everyone’s awake now it wants to start with the explanation.
Looking around, there are lots of people gathered here at this unknown place plunged into darkness, all seemingly confused about the current situation. No one knows what’s going on or where they are. It’s too dark to tell how many people there are exactly but you can hear the voices of men and women talking all at once.
The strange voice from before tells them to quiet down and then proceeds to introduce themselves. Where’s the sound coming from? From a big monitor, illuminated in a blue light, placed at one side of the plaza. It’s now displaying a robot like puppet, that looks like some sort of rabbit. It’s name’s Alice. Alice says she’s the administrator and the one responsible for the current situation.
While Alice’s talking, Kaname wonders why he’s here. He last thing he remembers was going to bed at home. It doesn’t make any sense. And what even is that robot thing and what’s the meaning of her words? Administrator? This situation? She…is responsible?
The rabbit continues, saying she wants to make an important announcement. Apparently death awaits the ones who don’t listen to her and don’t follow her instructions. There’s a plastic box with a pill inside, placed in the pocket of every person gathered here and the rabbit wants them to take said pill.
There’s indeed a small box in Kaname’s pocket but he doesn’t remember why it’s there. He wasn’t the one who put it into his pocket so who did it? As he opens the box he finds some pills inside. She wants them to take this?
Alice “Just open the lid, take one out and swallow it! That’s easy enough to understand, right?”
Even if she says that it still sounds super suspicious. Everyone’s probably thinking the same wanting to know what that rabbit’s talking about. What’s the meaning of all of this?
Alice: “Anyway, if you don’t take the medicine quickly, you will all die’
Some letters are written in red color and the description writes it as ‘the color red was mixed into this voice’
Kaname can hear someone scream. More and more people begin to follow. At that time a smell of blood is drifting in. Where’s it coming from? Kaname tries to find the source but without any success. The screams aren’t just coming from one direction. He can hear them to his left and right, behind him and in front of him, basically everywhere and the smell of blood’s getting even stronger.
“…if you don’t hurry it will be too late. Look, the monsters are already close by”, Alice says this smiling happily, while the screams continue around them.
Kaname’s looking at it in disbelieve. Is this some sort of joke?
…what was that about monsters? Looking around him, he notice how people, still in panic, take out the pill from the box. “Is it really okay to swallow this”, asked someone. The sound of screams are getting closer. A man standing right beside Kaname starts running.
Alice: “It’s better to not move around too much”
At that time something black and big with wings attacks the running man. Whatever it is, it doesn’t look human. Kaname’s gasping as he witnesses what is happening right in front of him. The man, pushed down by the monster, has fear written all over his face but that expression disappears in an instant because the monster bites his head off. Blood is dripping from the neck. The arms, raised to grab something, stiffened once before falling to the ground.
All what Kaname could think is: ‘I’ve to get away from here!’. But as soon as he could hear the monster approaching, he becomes unable to move. Kaname knows that he can’t escape them. An overwhelming feel of helplessness and despair drains all the strength from his body. Even while covering his mouth with his hand, it’s difficult to suppress the urge to cry out.
A monster standing over a man raises its body. The part of an arm’s falling from its mouth. The man, whose lower half has become a lump of meat, turns his neck towards Kaname. Something round is shining In the darkness. Probably the eyes of the monsters. They are watching him, Kaname understands it instantly. It feels like his heart is about to break. He can’t stop the sound of heavy breathing from between his fingers. The monster slowly starts to move.
Alice: “Now, take the pill if you want to survive”
There’s no other way than following her order. Kaname takes the pill with trembling fingers, puts it in his mouth and swallows it.
He suddenly hears a classical song coming from some speakers. It’s completely unfitting for the situation but sounds beautiful. At the same time as the song starts playing the monsters stop moving and escape the place.
Alice: “Let’s see, all what’s left are twelve people?”
The monitor’s display turns off and the real Alice appears out of nowhere. Where was she until now? Hiding somewhere nearby avoiding the monsters? The rabbit says that it will give a proper explanation later and that they should move away from here for now. The music still continues playing. It’s the first time Kaname looks at his surrounding after the tragic event that occurred right before his eyes. While hearing the elegant music, he sees parts of dead people shattered everywhere – bitten off by monsters.
He can see a sobbing girl with two boys supporting her. A man and a woman are looking at the scenes emotionless. The rest, including Kaname, are just standing there dumbfounded.
Alice: “Follow right after me”
Crazy. Everything’s just crazy.
Alice: “It’s only safe right behind me. I don’t need to explain what happens if you don’t follow me, do I?”
With that, the robot named Alice moves away. Kaname watches her sliding over the ground.
Where are we?
Where is she going?
There’s no answer to this question but it can’t be ignored. The only save place is behind Alice. That’s certainly the case now. Kaname can hear the footsteps of several people and starts moving, too. The only thing he can do’s follow Alice. The smell of blood’s still lingering in the air and there are body parts everywhere. It’s difficult to avoid them without looking at his feet.
—
After what feels like forever, they finally come to a halt in front of a mansion like building.
Alice: “Welcome everyone. This will be your castle from now on”
As Alice said that Kaname raises his head. This certainly looks like a castle. Kaname wishes he could fall asleep in this place and finds himself in his room when he wakes up. But this isn’t a nightmare, it’s reality. Alice’s voice pulls him out of his thoughts. It says that the inside of this building is modern, so there’s no need to worry.
As everyone steps into the lobby (the front door opened automatically!), Kaname realizes that his shoes are dirty with blood and chunks of meat. He tries to wipe it off by using the big mat designed for it. Not that it will help much but the feeling of discomfort causes him to keep doing it.
A girl approaches him asking if he’s Kaname. A nostalgic sounding voice. A voice with a bright color connected with many memories. Kaname stops in his doing and looks up.
Kaname: “Ichika?”
His childhood friend Houshi Ichika stands right before him with a surprised look on her face. Since it was all dark outside Kaname didn’t notice her presence earlier. She seems unwell, only talks it broken words. That’s why Kaname holds her hand and tells her that everything’s alright. She’s returning the grip. Her expression slowly turns into relive but her words ‘sorry, I’m fine now’ are written in red.
Ichika lets go of Kaname’s hand with a serious looking face. She wants to know why they are in such a place when she was supposed to be sleeping in her own room. Kaname doesn’t have an answer to this because he’s the same. The last thing he remembers, before he woke up standing in the plaza, was going to bed.
Kaname starts thinking about his ability. He knows that Alice’s telling a lie and he’s the only one aware of it. Even if he’s the one lying, he can see that dark red mixed in his voice. This is something only Ichika and…no, only Ichika knows his secret. That he can see lies in a clear color.
About Kaname’s ability:
Kaname’s able to visualize lies in spoken words from others and himself. It’s displayed in the color red. It only works if the person’s lying intentionally. Otherwise it doesn’t count as a lie and is not shown as one.
Lies are red. A blackish dirty red. Kaname was confused about seeing some lies in Alice’s words. But Alice’s words also include a lot of truth. It’s not a good idea to trust her either way. There’s something Alice’s hiding. It’s trying to deceive them.
Kaname tells Ichika that he sees ‘them’ but avoids speaking about his ability directly because he can’t tell if Alice’s able to listen in to their conversation. The rabbit’s still in the lobby, now heading to some elevator in the back. One thing’s certain. That this place’s safe is the truth and Kaname decides to follow Alice for now. They want to continue their conversation later.
—
The elevator stops one floor before the top floor. No one says a word. Even though Kaname couldn’t talk much with Ichika, having her by his side helps with calming down. Now that he’s away from that horrible scene his head’s slowly getting clearer.
Alice says that they have arrived. She turns around and looks at all the people who followed her up here. Kaname and Ichika and small groups of other people gather in a large room. Since they don’t know any of the others Kaname and Ichika take a little distance from them.
Before continuing the explanation Alice wants to apologize for something. The pill everyone took doesn’t protect them from the monsters. Actually there’s no meaning to it. For Kaname this is simply a confirmation.
Ichika: “Kaname?”
She wants to know if Alice’s saying the truth. Kaname nods and she understands the meaning. But why didn’t they fell prey to the monsters as well then? Ichika asks Kaname but Alice heard them so he decides to ask the rabbit about it.
Kaname: “If that medicine wasn’t something to prevent us from getting devoured by the monsters. Why did they spare us?”
It’s not question and answer time yet. This has to wait until later, says Alice.
According to Alice they are all infected with a virus.
A man standing alone at the window comments on that reveal with a ‘what!?’ causing Alice to pay attention to him. The robot says that everyone should quietly listen to her, no talking or else…
Or else, what?
Alice: “I might kill you”
That was the truth. She says it could make the monsters outside do the job for it and that it’s able to control them to some extent. Alice decides to set ‘it’s not allowed to talk without permission’ as a rule and continues on.
The virus is called murder virus
Another ‘what!?’
Again from the man who looks like a punk but as soon as he realizes his mistake he immediately quiets down. Alice overlooks it.
The interesting thing about the murder virus is that it creates an urge to commit murder. It’s like an impulse, a sudden fit and people infected with it have to kill or else they will die. Committing a murder’s the only way to get rid of the virus and it must happen within 30 days. People who already killed in the past don’t have to worry about this because they aren’t affected.
That ends this explanation and the next one’s about the monsters. The same moment some of the strange creatures appear outside at the window, looking into the lounge.
Right now this planet’s being destroyed by those monsters, this includes the town they are in. Apparently the people in this building are the only survivors.
No matter how you look at it, this sounds like complete nonsense and Alice talks about it while laughing. She orders the monster to go away and they all disappear. As Alice demonstrates her power over the monsters, red is mixed into one of her words. Something about being able to control them by some extent sounds fishy.
Alice’s the one who drove off the monsters in the square. Everyone took the medicine on their own account. Even though there are lies mixed into her words, it’s true that the rabbit saved them. Does that mean Alice has complete control over the monsters? But why keep this a secret?
While thinking about the meaning of lies, Alice continues with an important questions ‘who or what is Alice?’. She says that she’s their administrator. The only one who can protect them from the monsters and who decides over everything, including live and death.
Alice: “Like I said, the only survivors are in here but I can’t let everyone live. That’s why I have to reduce the number of people to two”
She decides on a 30 days time limit for this, same as with the virus
Explanation time over! Question and answer time starts now but even after Alice says that they are allowed to talk, they all stay silent.
There’s too much to think about right now, too many absurd sounding information to organize in the head. man-eating monsters, a murder virus, the earth being destroyed. None of it sounds realistic and it’s not easy to accept…
Since no one else’s speaking up, it’s Kaname’s turn to ask something.
Kaname: “Where are we?”
Alice uses this chance for some introductions, asking about Kaname’s name before she answers the question. This is humanity’s last fort. It’s called Aliceland but the town outside has been destroyed…not only the town but everything else as well including half of Aliceland.
As Kaname looks out of the big window he sees an illuminated fairy-wheel and other attractions and assumes this might be something like a theme park or amusement park. You can see countless strange creatures flying through the night sky and if you look further…there’s nothing but devastated land. No mountains, no valleys, no rivers are outside the wall surrounding the park. It’s all gone. The only thing left are some forest and dry ground as far as you can see.
Of course, it isn’t clear what exactly the situation is with only getting so little information and this horrific sight but since Alice wants them to ask the next question, there’s probably no use in getting any more out of her. There are still plenty of other things Kaname wants to know so he’s asking another question that’s on his mind.
Kaname: “What are those monsters?”
Alice says she has to apologize first because she’s not so sure about what they are either but she knows that the monsters only devour people and buildings.
Kaname: “…only?”
The word only appears in red and Kaname says it out loud without intending to. Alice looks at him a little confused, wanting to know if there’s something wrong with what she just said. That’s not it but Alice demonstrated that she’s able to manipulate the monsters and Kaname wants to know how she did that. Alice says there’s a way to control them and only she knows it. How it’s done is a secret, though. They don’t have to worry about it because she’s in the middle of examining it in detail.
Kaname’s about to ask another question but Alice stops him. Someone else should ask one. A man raises his voices while slightly holding is hand up. He looks older than Kaname and seems pretty calm. His introduces himself as Ninchouji Issei
Issei: “Alice, what’s your aim?”
Alice says her aim is simple to protect humanity from the monsters outside. Issei wonders why she has to reduce the number of survivors for that because there are only twelve people (thirteen with Alice?) left. There are some factors that makes it impossible to keep all of them alive, food and maintaining energy for example. Issei suggests they could try getting food from outside and cook it, he’s very good at procuring and preparing food for survival purpose. Alice says that there are other reasons beside food so they shouldn’t worry about it too much. So food isn’t the issue? That’s still no good news because the situation hasn’t changed at all.
A girl with glasses timidly calls out to Alice. She looks like the same age as Ichika and Kaname, maybe a little younger. Kaname doesn’t recognize the school uniform she’s wearing. A tall boy in an orange jersey tries to stop her right away. Is he the same age as the girl? Kaname doesn’t know why he’s wearing a jersey but looking at the honorifics he’s using, he could be younger (he called the girl Miori-san). She tells him that she’d like to ask something which makes him back down. The girl introduces herself as Himeno Miori.
Miori: “Why us?”
Alice: “Because you were chosen”
Miori: “Chosen?”
???: “By whom? …and how?”
A girl resembling Miori asks this. Kaname didn’t even notice her until now because she was hiding behind Miori all this time. She introduces herself as Himeno Yuuri. The same surname as Miori. Are they sisters? Alice refers to Yuuri as ‘Yuuri-kun’ which confuses Kaname. Usually she would call girls ‘-chan’ and guys ‘-kun’
…does that mean Yuuri’s actually a boy? Giving it a closer look Kaname notices that Yuuri’s wearing short pants and not a skirt. He’s probably Miori’s little brother.
Back to topic. They were all chosen by Alice but how they were chosen’s a secret.
Yuuri: “…a secret? why?”
The jersey boy from earlier tells Yuuri to let it be because Alice won’t answer that anyway. Alice asks his name and he introduces himself as Isurugi Michimune. As expected Alice won’t say more about it because it’s a secret. They should feel honored for being chosen.
Two young girls are interrupting it seemingly happy about the fact they are something special. Both are giggling. They look like twins or sisters with very similar faces but their clothing are totally different. One girl wears a gothic lolita dress and the other one a kimono. Caught between the two girls is a frail young man, looking at them with a troubled expression on his face. He seems overpowered by the proactive girls.
The girl in the gothic lolita dress is Tadenomiya Asie, the girl in the Kimono Tadenomiya Kashe. Kaname assumes that they could be half Russian and half Japanese, going by their names. They are both fluent in Japanese, maybe they lived here for many years?
They insist on calling Alice ‘Alice-sama’ which annoys the rabbit but in the end she answers with ‘do what you want’.
Since they both introduced themselves it’s now time for the young man to do the same. He has been completely silent until now but after the girls tell him to introduce himself, he finally opens his mouth. His name’s Isumi Hakushu. Alice asks if he has any questions but that doesn’t seem the case.
Anyway, there are only three people left. Ichika, the boorish punk and the expressionless woman who showed very little interest in everything until now. …wait, there’s another person here. A little girl’s sitting quietly in the corner of the room. Kaname thinks he has seen her somewhere before but he can’t remember where.
Alice seems slightly upset about having to call out to the remaining people to get to know their names. Let’s start with the mysterious woman. Even after approaching her the person in question keeps ignoring the rabbit. She keeps looking in the far distance which strengthens her mysterious aura. After finally getting her attention all the woman says is her name, Yurizono Shihori.
Next up’s the boorish guy, Ayara Izuki. Kaname thought he would put up a more aggressive tone but he introduces himself right after getting asked. He also has something to ask, that’s bothering him. Izuki wants to know how they were brought here because he can’t remember any of it. Not only Kaname but also Alice look surprised about Izuki apologizing for phrased his question wrong at first and then calmly correcting himself. He looks like the aggressive type, with his look and openly showing his tattoo around but his personality seems different?
No memories. Kaname doesn’t remember how he got here. He remembers Ichika, his parents and his family but what’s about the time directly before coming here…there’s nothing. What did Alice say the first time he heard her? To wake up? Where they sleeping? No, as Kaname opened his eyes he was already standing in that place. Then…maybe they were unconscious? That seems very unlikely as well because they would have lying on the ground and it’s impossible for all of them to wake up at the same time.
Alice says she has intended to explain this later but since Izuki asked about it she will do it now. Apparently some memories were erased by Alice. Is that even possible? It sounds like nonsense but it would actually explain a lot and there isn’t a single lie in Alice’s words. The rabbit says she left most memories that make them the person they are untouched, especially memories of the past because it want to be a fair administrator.
Last one’s Ichika. Alice wants to know if the dog collar and chain’s fashion but Ichika completely ignores her and asks a question instead.
Ichika: “You said I’m the last one but what’s with that girl sitting over there?”
Alice says the girl doesn’t have any memories and that’s why it’s useless to ask her for her name. She doesn’t speak at all. And it wasn’t Alice who erased her memories, it was like this from the beginning. Ichika looks at Kaname, as if she wants to know if Alice’s telling the truth and he gives her a nod.
Ichika: “Why?”
Alice: “That’s a secret”
That’s all Alice’s willing to tell about the silent girl. Kaname’s very curious about her, though. There’s another question Ichika wants to ask
Ichika: “Are you still hiding more things from us?”
Of course, she is and she doesn’t intend to tell them everything but since Ichika asked about it the rabbit’s willing to share one secret with them. There’s at least one person among them who has committed murder in the past. That means even if they don’t kill, they won’t be affected by the virus. This time Ichika doesn’t look at Kaname but at everyone else in the room and checks their faces. Alice words are not doubted anymore. Everyone seems to be aware of the meaning behind them.
Anyway, onto the next question. Alice is having fun. Kaname doesn’t know what’s so funny about this situation but the rabbit’s enjoying it. She may look like a robot but he can tell.
Kaname: “How do you plan to reduce the number of people? Through killing everyone?”
Alice: “Of course not. It’s forbidden to use violence. This is an absolute rule, make sure to not forget about it. Don’t hit or kick others or touch them with ill intention in mind”
With such a rule it’s difficult to tell what counts as violence and what not and how Alice wants to determine ‘Ill intention’. It ends in Izuki getting angry because he thinks that parts of Alice story could have been made up and he doesn’t understand why everyone believes her so easily. He approaches Alice but she warns him that the rule about violence’s already put into effect. But if he wants to be killed he can give it a try. Before Izuki can do anything, Kaname stops him and tries convincing him that Alice’s telling the truth.
Kaname can’t explain why he helped him. Only two out of them will survive this anyway but would it be okay to stay silent and watch? He can’t do such a cruel thing.
Kaname: “I don’t want to see any more people being killed right in front of me”
Alice says she doesn’t want to kill any of them so they better quietly listen to her and do what she want them to do. Izuki finally backs down after this. There’s another person here that’s up to something. At least you could hear Miori whisper ‘don’t do this’ and Michimune answering her with a ‘I’m not trying to do anything’. His words a written in red but it seems like he gave up quickly.
Back to the main topic. Alice tells that in their world exists a much better way than violence to decide something. You know? Democracy? or a majority vote?
Majority vote? Election? For some reason those words set Kaname’s heart racing.
Alice: “You all decide. Who should survive”
He couldn’t breath anymore. He doesn’t want to hear any more of this.
Alice: “and who should not survive”
…I’ll kill you
There’s a strong emotion welling up in Kaname and a moment later everything goes black. Ichika calls his name in panic as she sees him collapsing but Kaname doesn’t notice anything anymore. There’s only one thing floating in his mind: I’ll kill you.
—
Scene Title: Lies and Headphones
Kaname wakes up in an unfamiliar room, resembling a hotel room. He sits up on the sofa he was lying on and notices that Ichika’s by his side. She looks at him with a relieved expression, saying that he suddenly fainted and made her worry. Apparently he whispered something to himself right before that but he doesn’t remember anything. Kaname tries to think back.
Kaname: “Then everything Alice said earlier is…”
Ichika says that was yesterday. Kaname was out cold for half a day and it’s not night anymore. The conversation with Alice wasn’t a dream, everything really happened.
Kaname asks about the room they are currently in and Ichika explain’s that it’s his room. At least until the election’s over. Each room can only be opened with a card key Alice handed out to everyone. Every room seems exactly the same and they are all located on this floor. It’s similar to a hotel.
Kaname wants to know what happened after he fainted. Alice didn’t continue the explanation and gave everyone some free time until Kaname’s awake again. She will explain the election rules tomorrow at noon in the outlook lounge, the large room from yesterday night.
Since they are alone now Ichika changes the topic to Kaname’s ability and he confirms that he saw lies. At first he thought he wouldn’t be able to see lies in Alice words because she’s a robot and not a living being. All of what she says could be doubtful but to his surprise he could clearly see lies. Most of the explanation from yesterday is the truth but there are some lies mixed into it.
What kind of lies exactly? Kaname thinks back. Lots of weird lies. First that they would die if they don’t take the medicine and that they have to do it quickly or it will be too late. Alice admitted this herself. It was probably done to infect them with the virus.
Later Alice says something about the monsters only devouring people and buildings but it forgot to mention that she can control them. If it really has been forgotten there shouldn’t be any red words mixed into it. Kaname thinks that Alice must know something else about the monsters and hides it from them. Kaname didn’t see any other lies but there’s a low possibility that there are still lies his ability didn’t detect. The lies have to be told intentionally or else they don’t appear in red letters.
They saw the monsters with their own eyes and Kaname’s sure that the murder virus does exist. The virus they are all infected with. Which not only raises the urge to commit murder but also kills you after 30 days if you haven’t murder someone until then. It’s not something to worry about for now though because Alice plans to hold the election in the same period of time. That means most of them won’t be there anymore in 30 days. They don’t know the rules yet but if there’s a way they both want to avoid participating in it.
There’s another thing on Ichika’s mind. Alice talked about that there’s at least one murderer among them. That means it could be more than one person and they aren’t affected by the virus. What influence will this have on the election?
Ichika says that she won’t commit murder. Of course the same goes for Kaname. Ichika places her trust in him.
She wonders if there’s a way to remember the erased memories but it’s probably impossible. Alice said it only erased some of their memories, most likely some bad ones. It’d be nice if there’s a way to investigate it, to have an idea on what exactly got erased. They both try to remember what the last memory was before getting here.
Kaname puts on his headphones, asking Ichika to give him a moment for himself. She understands and stays quiet.
Synesthesia
To be able to see sound as color. Even if you explain this feeling to others, most won’t probably understand. It has only little influence on Kaname’s daily life but if you want to concentrate, noise can become a hindrance. It’s best described as color mixing into the noise, This ability’s also the reason he can see lies.
Kaname turns the switch on his headphones on, this cancels out noises and makes the colors he can sense less vivid. It’s dyeing the world in black and white with some grey in between.
Kaname tries to sort his thoughts. He can remember going to bed, wanting to sleep. The next memory after that is standing at the plaza in Aliceland with a lot of other people around, including Ichika. He doesn’t know if he walked there or someone carried him…it was wiped completely from his memories.
What did he do before lying on the bed? Turning off the light in his room. Before that? Closing the door. …and before that?
…
Taking a shower. even more before that?
Leaving the class room after hearing the sound of the bell
As expected something it’s off somewhere.
Kaname opens his eyes, takes off his headphones and makes a grim face while looking at Ichika.
Some parts from that day can be remembered clearly but some others disappeared. It’s the same for Ichika. She says she doesn’t know how she got home from school but knows what she did at home. Taking a bath, doing homework. She also remembers how she prepared a meal, ate it and read a book afterwards. It’s all connected.
Kaname tells her that he doesn’t remember when he ate something or how it got to his room after taking a shower. There are some parts missing here and there. Probably erased by Alice.
The days before that are the same. Ichika still knows that she went to school and had lessons but doesn’t remember what happened in the morning, at lunch break or after leaving school. There are even more holes in Kaname’s memories.
Ichika: “…Kaname? We were always together, right?”
Kaname: “That’s right, but why are you asking that now?”
Ichika says until last year they were in the same class and always walked home together but it’s different in the current school year. They are in different classes, never talk in school…there are actually barely any memories of Kaname. She doesn’t even remember if she was with someone or all alone at school.
It’s exactly as she said. They are neighbours since Kaname was born but there are only very few memories regarding their time together. Since they went to the same grade school, middle school and high school there should be far more things to remember about their time together but strangely that’s not the case. Were they all erased?
They go silent after that until Ichika, with a depressed look, says that she doesn’t know what to think anymore but she’s still fine…just lacking sleep. She stayed at Kaname’s side all night, waiting for him to wake up. Even if she would have returned to her room, she probably wouldn’t have been able to sleep anyway because she was too worried about him. Kaname suggests that she should rest up in her room and she agrees with it leaving him alone.
Left alone Kaname thinks what he could do but there are not enough information and too many doubts. To rack his head about it seems like a waste of time.
What is Alice’s identity? What are the other ten people planning to do? How will the election being held? Will the ten elected people die? What about the ones left? Does winning the election mean they also survive the virus?
There aren’t any answers to this.
Kaname decides to leave his room and look for someone he can talk to.