"So, you ready for this, Takeshi?" Ishi asked curiously.

"As I'll ever be," Takeshi supposed. "Are you?"

"Totally!" Ishi replied confidently. "I gave this plenty of thought, y'know? Just work with me, and we can get 'er to, like, slip up super easy."

It had only been a few minutes since Eryu got back to the two of them. He'd said previously that he had something that they could both do for them, and he definitely wasn't bluffing, since he did indeed end up calling for them before long. The task he had for them was simple enough to understand: IMONO might've been keeping quiet about the truth serum, but no matter how secretive it was supposed to be, it was still being used. Thus far, Bankei had apparently been able to avoid setting off the device on her back, but if she got injected with some of that truth serum…well, a lot of it went unspoken, but Ishi still understood what he was getting at. Or, at least, she was pretty sure she did.

But yeah, they needed to figure out a way to get her to lie. A tricky task, perhaps, but with the two of them, surely they'd be able to figure out a way to get her to slip up. Ishi, in fact, had the perfect way to get her to make a little fib, and was more than willing to let Takeshi in on the idea. He was…a tad apprehensive about the idea, but still ultimately agreed to play along with her idea the best he could. He didn't really have much of an idea of how to get her to slip up, by his own admission, and Ishi actually made a pretty good argument in favor of her own idea, so he wasn't going to argue back.

The two of them were on the fourth floor, outside the coffee room. According to Eryu, Bankei was last seen heading into it not long ago, so hopefully she'd still be in there. With bated breath, Takeshi turned the knob and opened the door…

Yep, there she was, sitting down at the room's table. She apparently had decided to forego her crutches that day, given the fact that they were nowhere to be seen. She seemed to be on the road to recovery indeed, though she didn't seem enthused about that. In fact, she looked rather discontent, even before she turned to look at them. Did she know they were gonna come in somehow? That was what Ishi's mind jumped to, anyways, it might've been true.

"Ishi? Takeshi?" Bankei asked confusedly. "What are you two doing together?"

"Huh?" Takeshi replied, heading into the room. "We just met up, is all. What's so weird about that?"

Bankei shook her head annoyedly. "Well, I suppose it's not weird, per say. It's more like I find it rather interesting that a self-professed christian would want to spend time with…" She motioned to Ishi. "That."

Ishi took a moment to consider what she was trying to say, and wasn't happy with what she inferred. "What, 'cause you think I'm, like, a slut?"

Bankei shrugged. "Whatever. I figured since you asked, I needed to be truthful. You don't have to worry about it."

"Well, that was just rude," Takeshi pointed out. "Plus, it's kinda weird you'd say that. After all, you're a little bit, uh…Sorry, I'm not sure how to say this."

"Nah, don't worry, dude," Ishi assured him. "I know what you're getting at."

Takeshi was stumbling a bit, but Ishi still felt like they were on the right track. They just needed to steer the conversation in a way that made what was coming feel natural. Otherwise, Bankei would take notice and figure them out like that.

"Oh?" Bankei replied. "What do you think he was trying to say?"

Ishi sat down across from her and gave her a probing look. "It's kinda obvious, y'know? This kinda, like, begs the question. You think I'm dirty, or whatever, so what?"

Bankei gave her an odd look in response. "So…what?"

"Exactly!" Ishi replied. "We've all seen what you've gotten up to. You probably think I'm a…like a sex fiend, or something, but what about you, huh?"

"What…about…me…" Bankei looked like she was contemplating what to say next. Was it because she was nervous? With Bankei, it was kinda hard to tell, but as far as Ishi was concerned, they were definitely getting somewhere.

"Yeah, y'know? What are you, like…into?"

With that, Ishi's plan was officially underway. Bankei might've acted like a total prude, but as far as Ishi was aware, she totally wasn't. She said something to that effect just a couple days ago, in fact, so she definitely wasn't as innocent in that regard as she liked to pretend she was. There was just the question of whether or not she'd slip up in an attempt to hide that fact. If she did, Ishi's plan would work!

"Excuse me?" Bankei asked offendedly. "What sort of question is that? Do you really make such debauched inquiries during normal conversation? You're worse than I thought."

"Hey, it's a valid question!" Ishi insisted. "I mean, come on, you know we know you're not so pure. You said so yourself not too long ago, didn't you?"

"I…" Bankei trailed off for a moment. "Look, this is completely ridiculous. I don't know why you think I'd want to answer a question like that. That's just not something you admit to people freely."

"Well, if it's any consolation, whatever you answer with, it probably won't change our opinion of you," Takeshi pointed out.

"You say that like you want me to answer," Bankei observed. "First Ishi acts strangely, now you. What exactly is going on here?"

Bankei looked directly at Ishi when she said that last part. Did she already know about what Ishi was doing? Was her cover blown? She knew she needed to deflect this suspicion, and fast.

"Hey! I'm not doing anything 'strange'!" she insisted. "Can't, like, say the same about you, though. You've been super strange, for a super long time!"

"What sort of definitions are we using for the word 'strange' here, exactly?" Bankei asked. "I feel as though we might not be on the same page."

"She's just trying to say that it's weird for you to call us strange," Takeshi explained. "You say we're disgusting because we're talking about, well, sex, but you?"

"Yeah!" Ishi said affirmatively. "You think it's, like, unladylike, but you've done some stuff. You were totally ogling Mine that one time."

"I don't think I was there for that," Takeshi weighed in.

"Well, she did it," Ishi replied.

"I only acted that way because I was drugged," Bankei insisted bitterly. "My thoughts were invaded, and my judgment was influenced by a force outside of my control. You think I'd make such a display of perversion of my own free will? I would never!"

She paused for a moment, as she seemed to…realize something? It was hard to say with certainty what emotions had gripped her, but it was only moments later that her body language changed and she grit her teeth as the device activated.

"...Damn," she swore silently. "Well, I hope you're happy."

Ishi had to remind herself not to smile. After all…her plan worked! It totally worked! She knew that if they kept up the pressure, Bankei'd make a mistake. And how ironic that she'd lament about having been drugged, only seconds before it happened again. Now that they'd succeeded at their goal, now all they had to do was…Actually, Ishi wasn't sure. They were supposed to get her to lie, but afterwards? Well, disengaging from her was an option, but that'd be kinda suspicious. Best not to make her suspicious, Ishi figured, since that'd just make her more of a problem for all of them, and that was something Ishi definitely wasn't interested in having happen. They'd have to try to keep it going, if only for a little longer.

"Wait, that was a lie?" Takeshi asked, seemingly on the same page as Ishi.

Bankei groaned in frustration. "Yes, it was. I…have done some things that one might consider to be perverted in nature. And of my own free will."

"Yeah, I figured as much," Takeshi replied. "Still, like what I said before, I probably wasn't there for all of them."

"You weren't," Bankei replied simply. "I remember I said some rather flirtatious things to Naoko once. We were alone, of course."

"Huh?" Ishi responded bemusedly. "You flirted with Second Best Boy?!"

"Yes, I did, but…" Bankei paused, confused. "Wait. He's still only second best? Who would possibly be better than him in your mind?"

"Hey, I'm not the one on truth serum right now," Ishi said dismissively.

"Look, you don't own him," Bankei said. "And that doesn't matter anyways. It wasn't as though I was trying to seduce him, per say. It was just a harmless joke. Of course, if he were to take the offer I made him, then, well, I suppose I would've been more than happy to let him j-"

"Woah!" Takeshi interrupted her. "Alright, slow down."

"Well, you definitely get the point, then," Bankei replied.

"Oh, come on," Ishi responded dismissively. "Like he'd ever take an offer like that. Especially when I'm still available. Unless he's into some freaky shit…yeah, I don't see that happening."

"'Freaky'? Me?" Bankei responded bemusedly.

"Yeah, 'cause you're, like, totally creepy, and stuff," Ishi explained. "I'm not saying it's 'cause I think you're into, y'know, freaky shit."

"Is that so?" Bankei questioned. "First you're asking what I'm 'into', then you're saying you don't think I'm some sort of degenerate freak?"

"Oh," Ishi replied. She hadn't considered that as a discrepancy, but apparently Bankei did. Now was she supposed to follow through on that inquiry? They were acting like they were genuinely curious, in order to hide their true intentions, so that was just what she needed to do, right? Yeah, she really overestimated how much thought she put into her plan.

"It's just a curiosity thing," Takeshi insisted. "Ishi asked because, theoretically, you could be."

"Why would she ask that if she doesn't think so?" Bankei questioned.

Now Ishi was getting confused. Bankei definitely wanted to hide her perversions before, but now it seemed like she was willing to question them on their intentions. Why? Because the thoughts were popping into her head? Did that mean she wasn't just forced to be truthful, but also more impulsive? That'd explain some of the weirder things she'd said without explicit prompting thus far, but also…well, that meant she was still voicing her suspicions. There wasn't any getting out of this, was there? Ishi tried not to panic or anything, but she couldn't think of an easy or reliable way out.

"Okay, then…are you?" Ishi asked.

Ishi had a feeling that, when she said that, whatever answer they got wouldn't be fun to hear. After all, a question like that is inherently intrusive, and the two of them only wanted to get her to slip up. They (or, rather, Ishi) didn't have any actual plans to get her to be honest. Still, there was still a possibility that whatever came next wouldn't be so bad. Maybe just something kinda out-there that wouldn't make them feel dirty for asking about it? That was the hope, anyways.

The reality? Well…It could've been worse. At the very least, Ishi's initial assumption was right. Bankei might've acted all high and mighty, or what have you, when it came to the topic of sex and all that stuff, but it wasn't like she was above it. In fact, she definitely wasn't above it. After all, some of the stuff that she said was legitimately surprising. Ishi, well, she had never even considered the idea that when Haru barged into Bankei's room, that she assumed that he…and that she might have even…

She refrained from finishing that thought. In fact, once they got to that point in the conversation, they figured that was a good enough reason to excuse themselves. They left, and once they were absolutely sure they were out of earshot, they finally decided to address what they'd just heard.

"Holy hell, that was…weird," Ishi said aloud.

"Yeah, I feel the same," Takeshi agreed. "Still, I think…I think we did it. We got her to slip up, like we were supposed to, and…well, we didn't say that that was our intent."

"Yeah, we did it alright," Ishi replied. "Still, I feel like my plan was, like, cleaner in my head. I mean, we kinda, y'know, forced her to say all that stuff. That's not, like, a bad thing, is it?"

"It's not exactly admirable," Takeshi figured. "After all, generally speaking, it's bad to force someone to talk about something that personal against their will."

"Yeah, but, I mean, it wasn't like I actually wanted her to admit anything," Ishi said in her defense. "Besides, like, this is Bankei we're talking about. She's totally crazy and stuff!"

"Fair," Takeshi supposed. "But, at the same time, if we want to prove we're better than her, we still need to have our limits as to how far we're willing to go to get what we want. Bankei? She doesn't care what she does, so long as she gets what she wants. She's made that very clear. So, we need to be better than her, at least in that regard. That's what I think, anyway."

Ishi sighed. "Yeah, I get it. I just thought, y'know, we wouldn't have to worry about that, like…what's the term? Moral…something or other?"

"Don't worry," Takeshi assured her, "I'm not judging you. You had an idea, and you thought it was a good one. And you know what, I agreed to it. Neither of us are blameless here."

"Really? Thanks, man," Ishi replied, just glad that he wasn't angry at her. "So, if this is it, we just have to, y'know, report back and say that we did it. After that…I guess we could hang out for a while. That sound good to you?"

"Maybe," Takeshi said unsuredly. "This whole experience seems like it's bothering you. I'd hate to risk having you dwell on it."

"Oh," Ishi replied disappointedly. "Well, I guess that's a good point. Alright. Some other time, then."

"Actually, y'know what?" Takeshi said. "I just remembered something. Here."

Takeshi pulled out a small black notebook and handed it to her.

"It's Hoshi's," he explained. "We've been passing it around for…sentimental reasons. It's actually got some cool stuff in it."

"It does, huh?" Ishi responded, glancing down at it curiously.

"Yep," Takeshi replied. "There's a post-it note in there we've been using as a bookmark. Just to label a part that we thought was particularly interesting. Give it a look, and once you're done, give it to someone who hasn't gotten it already."

"Like who?" Ishi asked.

"Dunno," Takeshi admitted. "I think Naoko, Eryu, Yori, and Mareo have also gone through it. Plus, Mariko was the one who gave it to me. That's at least six of us thus far that have had it. So I guess try giving it to Kimi? Not Bankei, obviously."

"Yeah, sure," Ishi nodded quickly. "I guess I'll give it a look, see what the fuss is all about."

The next day, Naoko woke up, and after the morning was over, he was approached by Eryu and given a simple task: go through the contents of the laboratory and distillery again, and take note of everything that was in both rooms. It was the same thing as what he did yesterday, but, well, after he was done doing so, he jotted down his findings, and he ended up noticing something. The amounts of the different components were mostly the same, but a few were ever-so-slightly lower than yesterday. It was hard to tell, but they were obviously different amounts for a scant few. That was when the plan came together. The truth serum in Bankei's device had to be refilled, meaning that IMONO had to create more truth serum. Thus, comparing the chemical components used with the directions for making the different compounds…there was one match.

"It's this one," Yori said, pointing to the compound in question. "HITBP-10. None of the others have this exact combination of components."

"Or the amounts," Naoko added.

"Well, perfect," Eryu said happily. "Now we know what we can't use, which means we can finally get to work properly."

"So, what exactly will we be making, then?" Naoko asked. "We still don't know much about any of this stuff, other than some vague snippets of information."

"The way I see it, we're putting ourselves in a good deal of risk," Yori reasoned. "We'll have to familiarize ourselves with all the available safety measures, and take into consideration everything we'll be working with. Whatever we're working with, it could become deadly under the right circumstances. No matter what we do, we must treat everything we do here as dead serious."

Naoko and Eryu exchanged looks of agreement. It wasn't like they didn't know that what they were getting into was dangerous. They just had to take what information they had, and follow any instructions provided to the letter. That, and, obviously, not die.

That was pretty much the attitude they worked with the rest of the day. They didn't want to jump straight to trying to create something explosive or corrosive or anything, since that would seem very suspicious, but they still tried to create something useful, or at least interesting. It was a long process, though, as it took a good thirty minutes or so of work just to create something listed in the binder. Specifically, "HWSI-1", the first one listed in it. After all that work, all they were left with was a vial of brown liquid that was non-toxic, non-flammable, and the only notable attribute of which that they could determine was that it smelled really, really bad. They didn't have anything on hand to suggest it had an actual use, so…presumably, that was the point of it. So, after throwing the sample out and spritizing the room with an entire bottle's worth of air freshener, they unanimously agreed not to make that compound again.

Now they were honestly confused why that compound was listed alongside a truth serum and what was best described as the real-life equivalent of a love potion. Actually, better yet, who would think that creating either of those two things was a good idea? Let alone something that had no clear practical purpose? Maybe whoever listed these down made them, and…just so happened to be very proud of them? They decided they'd look into it further, as well as what they could do in the distillery. The latter seemed much more useful for their purposes, anyway.

After hours spent on that, with some combinations punched into that safe on the side, they had managed to spend the better part of the day on their investigative pursuit, without much of value to show for it. At the very least, they agreed that they knew what they were doing, and so long as they were careful and didn't waste anything, they could actually find what they were ultimately looking for: something that would get them to freedom.

Still, since they had time, they weren't going to rush anything. Plus, after spending hours on something he felt entirely out of his depth doing, Naoko honestly felt like relaxing for a while. Things would still be happening, but for now, he needed some time to himself.