“Sometimes, it feels like I don’t really have any options either.”
CHAIN-LINK EVENT
WARNING: this Event is part of an Event Chain! You've lost all control over your own actions and must now sit back while
someone else takes the wheel. Enjoy the ride while it lasts, and hope that you did things right before taking the plunge!
In a room in the Tsukioka Hotel, Futaba assists Miku in putting up the final decorations for tonight's party. However, after having spent nearly her whole morning putting up all the decorations alone, Miku's fed up with Futaba's indecisive directions. Makoto, meanwhile, is surprised how few showed up to help this year, with Imani reminding her that the person everyone usually comes to see is MIA, leaving half the class without motivation to attend. Futaba interjects, confirming that Ayane and Sana will arrive soon to help out, dryly noting the 'limitations' Sana's stature brings. Following a quip from Makoto, Miku throws in the towel, declaring she won't be helping anymore.
Imani, meanwhile, feels as though tonight's missing something with Makoto pointing out the obvious lack of Sensei's presence. The following conversation between Miku and Futaba leads Imani to quip about how vulgar the class is, comparing the lax supervision they all have with her somewhat traditional upbringing as the youngest of seven. Quickly moving on, though, she asks the three girls about Rin, who was supposed to have joined in this morning's prep. Futaba explains that Rin, who's apparently going through a crisis, is out shopping with Rika. While Imani questions the efficacy of Rika as emotional support, Futaba is confident that Rin will be fine, pointing out how well she's handling her situation so far.
Miku is still surprised by how mature Rin is taking the separation from Otoha and suggests she should join the others in their attempts to get Sensei's attention, which hits a nerve in Imani. After she vents her frustration about Sensei's sudden disappearance, Makoto suggests the girls all take a break until the other assistants show up. Miku asks Futaba to call in Nodoka for help, but she informs her that Nodoka's not been entirely "present" lately.
Meanwhile, in Nodoka and Otoha's dorm room, the former is brooding over a notebook with discarded scraps of notebook paper surrounding her on all sides. Otoha, unsure about the cause of her roommate's sudden drop in mood, attempts to pry. After clarifying her sudden drop in mood isn't due to writer's block concerning her latest series, Nodoka reveals her recent obsession has been with Sensei, specifically who he really is. Contrary to Otoha's belief though, Nodoka asserts that Sensei himself would be unable to answer any of her questions, stating that Ami would be the one with significantly more exciting information to share. Otoha finds this hard to believe, confirming Nodoka's assumption that Ami's all but fooled everyone into believing her facade as an innocent, air-headed girl.
Nodoka reveals to Otoha that Ami's mother is most assuredly The Girl Who Cannot Breathe. The name, familiar to Otoha, prompts her to shut up and drop the topic entirely. Nodoka pokes fun at her attempts at feigning ignorance and the subsequent backpedaling but allows the topic to drop too, but states that if her theory is correct, Otoha will believe she's completely insane.
She finishes her thoughts by taking solace in the fact that there's someone else out there obsessed with this topic, though Otoha questions how she can possibly know that.