Extracts from 'History of Neglect', an online article by Otsuka Jihara, published 18 July 2039
…these complaint forms had apparently been intended as a 'box ticking exercise' or sorts intended to appease whoever was making the complaints. Not a single one was followed up, as former student Arisa Amano, at the time in Class 79-A and well respected by her juniors in 78-B mentioned when interviewed back in 2019:
"I remember Kamiya and Tsukuda mentioning some troubles to me, and asking them about what had happened later. They told me that they had filled in a form at Tengan-san's advising, but that they never heard anything afterwards. A few more things happened too, and the same thing happened so eventually they gave up."
Yet, despite her and many others mentioning forms, this detail was not picked up on. However, if they had, a clear pattern of stalking behaviours surrounding Class 78-B in particular would have been picked up upon and thus given the police a clear direction in which to focus their investigations-that is to say, towards anyone who was exhibiting an unhealthy interest or obsession towards the class. Without such tangible evidence, however, the evidence needed to maintain such a specific focus was not there and the investigation was doubtlessly unhampered by this…
…Many people will remember successful models and activists Junko Enoshima and Friday Fitzsimmons launching a new campaign to get police, schools and other establishments working with young women to help cut down on stalking, harassment and other abuses faced in everyday life, back in 2018. Some may even remember that they had an equal focus on male victims of such crimes too, at the time still an alien concept to most. However, few will remember that one of the main motivations for launching this campaign were experiences they had while at Hope's Peak, specifically as SHSL Fashionista and SHSL Beauty Pageant Competitor respectively…
…even accounting for the general shameful problem with teen suicides that plague this country even now, over the years there have been a number of notable suicides by various students and former students of Hope's Peak, including that of Ethan Kai, whose sad story was also highlighted by Enoshima-san and Fitzsimmons-san. There were also a number of deaths attributed to 'overwork', a cause usually only attributed to salarymen and women…
…undue pressure to neglect work-life balance, family obligations and other parts of life…
…
An extract from a Student Complaint Form submitted by Moeka Kamiya (on behalf of Class 78-B) dated11/01/2019
…And then we got back to our dorms, when we opened the doors we saw someone had left huge bunches of flowers just inside, almost blocking the way. We definitely remembered to lock our doors, and when we asked the others on our floor if they had seen anyone around, Kanzaki-sempai and Reese-sempai said that cleaning staff had been in and out and that [NAME TIPPEXED OUT] had been hovering around our rooms, though it looked like he had been visiting other students instead…
…
Extracts from a Student Complaint Form submitted by Sayuri 'Yuri' Fujimoto dated 29/09/2018
…then he pretended to think and told me that "that type of thing" could be "attractive" to a certain kind of man but that I probably didn't want that sort of thing. I told him "[NAME TIPPEXED OUT}, I'm not really interested in any kind of dating at the moment, because I'm happy with my friends and my brother, and school is more important at the moment." It didn't deter him though, and as if telling me a secret he just said that perhaps I "haven't fully bloomed yet" and that it would be interesting to see when I finally did…
…He laughed it off, saying that "most adolescents I meet" are into this sort of thing…
…
Extract from 'Re-Modelling the World: an exclusive interview with Junko Enoshima and Friday Fitzsimmons, written by Ayuko Naito, initially published in Girls' World, May 2018 issue 245 and republished multiple times online.
"So, like, I'm not going to lie, right, Naito-chan? Anyone who knew me back then would say that I was a complete bitch-"
Enoshima is momentarily interrupted by Fitz breaking out into raucous laughter, the words 'you were!' just about distinguishable within the noise. Enoshima seems unfazed by this, even grinning back at her friend and flicking her hair back as of this was merely an inside joke before continuing.
"And hand on heart I would 100% agree. I was a complete bitch and should have and could have been better. I certainly could have been kinder to poor little Kai-kun. But that's just what I thought of him-oh, poor little thing, so disturbed. That sort of thing, and I didn't look past it. Nobody did."
Enoshima actually has her hand on her heart for a moment, but she swiftly lets it fall back to her side. She and Fitz look at each other again before the latter (now calmed) looks back at me.
"But here's the thing. Like, JunJun 100% could have and should have been nicer, right? That goes without saying. But that's where our responsibilities as classmates lay and stopped. Yes, we didn't do a great job at that, but all the same, those were our responsibilities. Figuring out that there was more to Ethan's issues? That was something that should have been within the remit of the adults around us and they failed at that too. And frankly, that failure should have been weighed as heavier than ours."
"Pfft, more than a failure." Enoshima interjects stiffly.
I suspect I know what I mean by this, and quietly ask the two of them if they want to speak off-the-record about this issue instead. The models do not even need to consult each other, both swiftly shaking their heads. Fitz reasons that it should not matter since the matter is considered officially closed and the alleged culprit is now also deceased as a result of what she delicately calls 'the bohemian lifestyle', while Enoshima points out that both of them have legal teams to rival that of Hope's Peak.
"Anyway," Enoshima concludes bitterly. "Whatever way you slice it, Charlotte Schmitt was a real bitch and I fucking hate that in the end she basically 'won'. Got away with being a pervert just because she was female. And because Hope's Peak thought abuse was justifiable if it resulted in a teenager having a 'Talent'."
"Though, there's another thing that bringing Ethan up illustrates," Fitz adds. "That it doesn't matter whether the perpetrator is male or female, abuse and discrimination are still abuse and discrimination. "
Both the models' eyes light up at this, and it is easy to see just how determined they are to get their messages across, so in the end I concur and decide that this section will make it into the final piece. It is after all, something that needs to be said.
"There's another thing, too…" Fitz speaks up after this moment of silence in which we contemplate this.
"Oh, and what's that?" I ask.
Despite how impressed I am by the depth and breadth of their focuses, I do wonder what else there is to bring up at this point and want to bring the conversation back to the initial issue-stalking. But I nod and allow her to continue.
"Now, a lot of the stuff we talked about, it's not something only Hope's Peak has issues with, right, JunJun?"
"Oh, for sure." Enoshima chimes in cheerily.
"But, also…Hope's Peak is by far one of the most distinctive places with such a large impact on society and it's continuing to…I mean, what's the number of the incoming class this year?"
"78." I supply.
"Yeah, exactly, 78. Do you know any school that has lasted that long?" Fitz exclaims. "I certainly don't, not even back home. But things can't that long without changing, otherwise bad things happen, and Hope's Peak has already had so many bad things happen to it and because of it. If they don't change things, well…I am worried that there will, somewhere down the line, be a much worse tragedy than what happened to Ethan or even any of the poor kids who killed themselves over the pressure."
"Like what?" I ask.
"There's no way of knowing for sure," Fitz says. "But I really think that if nobody does anything to try and make society a better, safer place for young people then it's going to end badly. And frankly, Hope's Peak needs to make those changes quickly if they want to prevent that."
Enoshima is silent, but nods vigorously and this, from the model who is famously mouthy, serves to underline the gravity of their belief in this.
…
From the forum pages dedicated to theories about the 78-B case on 'Real Sleuths', a lesser-known amateur sleuth's site
OnTheCase54 at 21:51 25th May 2025: [HaruruxXx said at 20:50 25th June 2025: yh I saw that case, runaway kids right? but what does that have to do with this lot?]
-It's a group of teenagers all found dead in an abandoned warehouse, with cameras rigged up and with varying causes of death, how much similar can you get?
OnTheCase54 at 21:51 25th May 2025: [OnTheCase54 said at 21:50 June 25th 2025: It's a group of teenagers all found dead in an abandoned warehouse, with cameras rigged up and with varying causes of death, how much similar can you get?]
-Besides, most of them are definitely these teenagers that were reported missing over the last four years:
LINK: Fears grow for disappeared private school twins recently orphaned
LINK: The five girls who went missing after going camping with their club said to be 'troubled' by their specialist engineering school
LINK: boy and girl runaways said to see themselves as 'Romeo and Juliet'
LINK: Runaways struggling students at elite Tokyo school
And here are the articles that reveal their positive identifications, all from the last few weeks-LINK, LINK2, LINK3
AkechiInTheMaking at 21:52 25th May 2025: [OnTheCase54 said at 21:51 25th June 2025-Besides, most of them are definitely these teenagers that were reported missing over the last four years:{truncuated}]
-There are DEFINITE similarities, and I can see that the Hope's Peak case may have gotten to this point if they had not been found eventually. Whatever REALLY happened we'll never know as they are all dead now-apparently it looks like the last three, two of the camping girls and the Romeo boy-died in that fire specifically whereas the others most likely died at varying points over the last four years. Of course the burning makes it hard to tell.
RyouKi at 22:49 25th May 2025: [OnTheCase54 said at 21:50 June 25th 2025: It's a group of teenagers all found dead in an abandoned warehouse, with cameras rigged up and with varying causes of death, how much similar can you get?]
-It's a step down,innit? Runaway students all at different times rather than one big abduction? Don't criminals escalate?
JusticeforMikako at 23:01 25th May 2025: [RyouKi said at 22:49 25th May 2025: It's a step down, isn't it? Runaway students all at different times rather than one big abduction? Don't criminals escalate?]
-You should know by now it's a well-established fact that it's kids who are deemed runaways or who are seen as troubled in any way are the ones who get less attention if something happens to them, even if they actually need more attention! Yet it is only ever the kids from 'good homes' or 'with 'good reputations' or whatever who are deemed worthy of worry, just like 78-B.
Not that 78-B wasn't tragic and horrific in every way! It was! But that story had a much happier ending than this one for the simple reason that they were considered more worthy of care overall!
RyouKi at 23:15 25th May 2025: [JusticeforMikako said at 23:01 25th May 2025: You should know by now it's a well-established fact that it's kids who are deemed runaways or who are seen as troubled in any way are the ones who {truncuated}}
-Woah chill man
OnTheCase54 at 23:15 25th May 2025: RyouKi, that was uncalled for and JusticeForMikako, I agree but with one caveat. While the regard for these guys between 2021 and 2024 was lowered due to them being runaways, they have received more attention than other similar cases since a lot of them came from elite schools. None in the league of Hope's Peak, but still schools with an extremely good reputation. I'd say these kids were straddling that continuum.
JusticeforMikako at 23:17 25th May 2025: Sorry. I do get worked up about these things as you all know. Some of this reminds me of those runaway teenage girls who were found in an old factory plant back in October 2006, they'd all disappeared at different points that year?! You know, the ones who had been frequenting the red light district in Shinjuku-LINK?! Everything in their lives was stacked against them and they barely got the attention this lot are getting now but it's almost a duplicate, except they weren't burnt!
See also the homeless men from between January 2007 to December 2008 LINK2 and the prostitutes from 2010 LINK 3. This group of care home kids were even found in an abandoned school just like 78-B in July 2018 LINK 4. Different death times, evidence of surveillance, varying causes of death, the lot!
HaruruxXx: ooh okay, that's a compelling case I guess? but if these really are all the same guy, then what…he escalated and then went back down again? who does that?
MimiBean at 07:23 26th May 2025: [OnTheCase54 said at 21:51 25th June 2025-Besides, most of them are definitely these teenagers that were reported missing over the last four years:{truncuated}]
-It's taking a while for them to be identified, huh? I suppose there are a lot of cases to go through to try and figure out matches and the fire complicated things too.
Oh, also OnTheCase54, if you're right then it's likely that the ones, when identified, will end up having also been from private schools?
OnTheCase54 at 07:23 26th May 2025: [MimiBean said at 07:23 26th May 2025: Oh, also OnTheCase54, if you're right then it's likely that the ones, when identified, will end up having also been from private schools?]
-Oh yeah for sure.
AkechiInTheMaking at 00:15 5th June 2025: Woah this thread's been dead for a while but anyway, did some digging and noticed this:
LINK-HOPE PEAK'S ALUMNI BIOGRAPHIES-ARCHIVED
LINK-HOPE PEAK'S ALUMNI BIOGRAPHIES-ARCHIVED
LINK-HOPE PEAK'S ALUMNI BIOGRAPHIES-ARCHIVED
LINK-HOPE PEAK'S ALUMNI BIOGRAPHIES-ARCHIVED
Look at the schools that those guys currently work at and the LOOK AT THE ARTICLES OnTheCase54 posted about the identified victims of this case!
OnTheCase54 at 02:45 5th June 2025: [AkechiInTheMaking said at 00:15 5th June 2025: Woah this thread's been dead for a while but anyway, did some digging and noticed this:LINK-HOPE PEAK'S ALUMNI BIOGRAPHIES-ARCHIVED {truncuated}]
-Woah good find. But damn that's another decisive link between this case and the 78-B case for sure!
JusticeForMikako at 02:47 5th June 2025: We need to see if there are links to any of the other cases! It could mean something! After all, weren't they suspicious of Hope's Peak for a while anyway?!
Ah the challenges of A: thinking of a random fictional magazine name and B: trying to mimic the layout of an online forum on a word doc.