Niko has made a decision — a decision that is, frankly, the least of her worries. Between managing the Dreamscape, dealing with Arashi’s attitude and having to convince her father and friends how meaningful her last decision was, she has more important choices to consider. While her classmates are now saying good-bye to the juniors in their clubs, getting ready to dedicate the next few months to college applications, she has finally made peace with the idea that she won’t be going to university. No matter how often Shinju protests it, she is fine being not as smart as everyone else is, all things considered. 

Plus, getting to spend the last few weeks of high school with not much to do was a neat little bonus… unless that was, of course, the exact reason why she was feeling so carefree. Before Niko has any time to start worrying about that, however, the doors of the clubroom open and her juniors walk in.

Niko: Took you long enough! I’m usually the one who’s late!

Hanako: Ah, um… I woke up late. Apologies. (She sets up and settles near her corner of plushies) …I’ll have to gather you all up soon, won’t I?

Niko: W-What does that mean? Oh, you’re talking to the plushies… Sorry.

Koharu: Pack them up just to have them here again next year. What a drag.

Hanako: But next term, I can arrange them in different configurations! Maybe there’s hidden drama or stories in how I set them when we return~

Niko: I don’t think you guys can even have drama without me around!

Koharu: If you say so yourself.

Niko: Ah, eh… (she clears her throat) You do know what they say about “knowing yourself”.

Shinju: (The door slides open and Shinju comes in) Heyo! Man, these college apps must be brutal. I think someone was cryin’ in the bathroom. 

Niko: S-Seriously…? Now I feel kinda bad for not even trying… (she sighs)

Koharu: You already have a job no one else can do. Job security’s the only reason to get a degree. Says my mom.

Niko: Y-Yeah! A job that doesn’t pay! Or should I remind you that I used to have a job that did pay well, and then you ruined it!

Koharu: Memory like a sieve. Tomatsu did. Also, that job was illegal.

Niko: Oh, bite me, Shirahara. You’re just jealous because no one’d pay for your pictures.

Yosuke: (he walks in, unaware) Oh, have you started photography too, Ko—senpai? I could teach you some tricks!

Hanako: Um, I don’t think she means—

Koharu: I’m not even criticizing you. I’m just saying it was illegal and it could’ve put you in danger. You wanna pick that up again now that you’re eighteen, I don’t care. Do whatever you want.

Niko: Yeah, sure. First with the “oh, college is overrated anyways”, then the “selling nudes is illegal”, it’s always something whenever I open my mouth. I don’t care if it’s all true what you’re saying — 

Yosuke: (he talks right over Niko) — H-hey, calm down, okay? You don’t get to talk to her like that—

Niko: — I know what you’re actually trying to say —

Koharu: — if I wanted to say anything other than what I said, I’d just say the thing I actually wanted to say —

Niko: — You’re just judging me, just like with the whole “I don’t care about romance — Oh. (she falls silent, awkwardly looking around the room) I’m… I’m doing it again, aren’t I?

Hanako: … (She looks away, back at her plushie pile)

Shinju: (Sympathetically) Niko, just take a deep breath for a second, okay? 

Niko: S-Sorry, I’m just… always so quick to assume other people are judging me.

Shinju: This is a judgment-free zone! (She looks to the others) Right?

Koharu: Only the truth matters.

Hanako: (She hesitates before replying, as if carefully measuring her tone) …Is it really a judgment free zone, Segawa-san?

Niko: I… I’m sorry… (she solemnly bows her head) I-I know you didn’t mean to say anything about me when you said that thing about romance… and I know you don’t think anything bad about Shinju and me…

Hanako: Of course not. Because you and Shinju are happy together. In that exact same way, I am happy, fulfilled even on my own. It isn’t… (She sighs again) …You sound like an old person when you say things that imply it’s a “phase” or “I’ll grow out of it” or “I haven’t found the right person yet” or something like that. I… wasn’t being mean when I told you to look asexuality up online, or in your library.

Niko: D-Did I really say that? Ugh… I’m so embarrassed…

Hanako: …I’m half surprised you didn’t come into the clubroom one day to “introduce” me to someone. 

Niko: … I don’t exactly have any male friends… or female friends, other than you.

Hanako: I would not have been surprised if you came in with a girl or a boy to try and, um… “help” me. A-And I’m flattered, but I just want you to understand, that’s all. I know you mean well. But…

Niko: I don’t even know I mean well. I just… do things for myself, I guess.

Hanako: (Still looking at her plushies) …P-Promise me you’ll do some research, and I’ll call it even, okay, Niko? (She then flashes Niko a timid little smile)

Niko: Research is what I do now, apparently… and I’m happy to get to look into some normal for once.

Seia: (Seia arrives, with Shinomiya behind her, having apparently walked her there. Seia doesn’t seem to pay him much mind as he lingers around looking at her before leaving) Hello, pumpkins. I finished up my piece on the new computer system rollout by the way. 

Yosuke: P-Pumpkins?

Koharu: … You said the same thing last time.

Shinju: Hey, Seia. Was that Shinomiya with you?

Seia: Yes, he and some other boys have started offering to walk me just about everywhere… very sweet, normally, but I think they have some hidden motives. (She sighs) Well, it’s a big change from my last school where I wasn’t so popular. 

Shinju: Oh… you still had Aoi’s group you were friends with, right? 

Seia: Oh, yes. For the last little bit. 

Shinju: Did you see her around while you were at Aoi’s, Hanako? 

Hanako: (hesitantly) …Y-Yes, at New Eden. I went by to speak with Yui, but she wasn’t there. I saw Seia training, and… spoke briefly with Aoi afterwards.

Koharu: She still a prisoner at that gym, then?

Hanako: I… would not call her a prisoner, per se. But… yes, she’s still there.

Shinju: Well, I doubt Yui would allow her to leave town, that’s for sure…

Hanako: …I think Aoi is… starting to accept and even lean into the role placed upon her. She doesn’t seem to be in distress, at any rate.

Koharu: … Does she still want to indiscriminately kill anyone she considers “evil”, regardless of the consequences?

Hanako: There’s… no malice behind Aoi’s eyes anymore. …There isn’t much of anything… she… (She shakes her head) …I can’t tell if she harbors a grudge against me or not. But… I apologized to her, and… she answered in a way that seemed to indicate no ill will. …She and I remain a lot alike in many ways after all, it seems. I’m just… I guess I had better luck in dealing with it. Even so…

Koharu: Don’t think she could live dishonestly. Usually people who do what she did have ulterior motives, but she never wore that mask. Odd as it may be. So if she had a grudge against you, she would have told you.

Seia: That, and I don’t think she’s comfortable saying anything is wrong for her right now. Like she doesn’t think she’s in a position to complain about anything. 

Hanako: …It’s… conflicting to me. Like, I can relate… far more than I should, probably.

Koharu: … Do you feel like you’re a prisoner? 

Hanako: …I feel like I’m losing my mind. It’s like… no one even remembers or cares to bring up my role in what happened with Aoi. Or my leaving for a month afterwards, despite the life I left behind, and knowing what was going on… …No one even seems to acknowledge the harm I caused, so I can’t… make up for it.

Shinju: … I was figuring Koharu already brought it up like a million times so I didn’t want to add to it. I wasn’t ever planning to chase you around until the year 5000 just for hanging around her while that all was happening… 

Koharu: In the end you made the right choice. You protected us against the winged girl. You came back to deal with these Balancers.

Hanako: So the ends justify the means? Erase them? …I… I can’t leave it like this. Just… pretending I did nothing wrong. I can’t go on without… without facing at least acknowledgement that I… that I fucked up!

Koharu: You think I don’t hold you accountable? It’s not because I don’t say anything that I don’t keep it in mind. I do all the time. But I also know that constantly reminding you of your mistakes doesn’t help you. The guilt would only drag you further down. We are your way back to the light. So we need to be there for you.

Hanako: … (She shakes her head) There… wasn’t time during the Balancers’ attack. But there’s been plenty now. So… even if just once, I need to know… I need to know what you all think about what I did. However you feel about me now… I need to know what the consequences of my actions truly are.

Koharu: … Do you still agree with the winged girl? Do you still think every “bad” person deserves death and that you can be the arbiter of who’s “bad” and who isn’t? Do you still think that anyone who disagrees is your enemy?

Hanako: …No. But tolerating evil in the world is… still a bitter pill to swallow. …It wasn’t at all difficult for me to fight or try to kill the Balancers, for example.

Koharu: (she shrugs) So, no consequences required. You realized she was wrong. That’s all I needed.

Hanako: (She looks Koharu in the eyes) …That’s truly enough for you? Even knowing… how I react to unrepentant evil? And how I am not afraid to kill for my ideals?

Koharu: Sounds like you’ve got more of a problem with your moral compass than I do… So how about this? From now on… (she looks back into Hanako’s eyes) … we think as one. We judge as one. The only enemies the three of us have are the enemies we have together. Individually, we can’t make the correct assessment every time… All three of us have been wrong lots of times… (she glances at Shinju as well)… But together, there’s no decision we’ve made together I’ve come to regret.

Shinju: You’re not gonna catch any flak from me for… y’know, needing to kill when it’s necessary. I’ve made the same choice after all. My sister too. We’ve gotta, if they ever send another pack of crazies this way. And somehow I’m pretty sure they will. 

Hanako: (She’s quiet for a long time, not breaking eye contact with Koharu before eventually giving her a slow nod) …That is fine by me.

Koharu: (she smiles, slightly) That’s the consequences, then.

Shinju: ‘S not like you bother me all the time about back when I pickpocketed stuff either, right? 

Hanako: …I guess we’re all kind of messed up on our own, aren’t we?

Shinju: Hey! (She folds her arms) Nobody’s messed up. We’re all great. 

Some laughter and banter follows as the awkward gloom that has been hanging over the clubroom whenever all of its occupants gather, has finally cleared. With a newfound belief in each other, Hanako, Shinju and Koharu are quick to realize what the future holds for them — to help heal another scar.