Episode 17 –
spoiler
Can it really be possible that sweet little Yukiho is the spy? It certainly seems that way. Yukiho seems a bit preoccupied and the flashes of her past seem to indicate that her loyalty lies elsewhere.
As Saku continues to investigate his employees for a clue, he keeps looking at Yukiho. Yukiho continues to offer her help to her co-workers and this time is given access to the mainframe. Haruka is still on a tight schedule and can’t spare time for Imber. He must be feeling very neglected at this point. But Yukiho is still offering to help Haruka as much as she can and this time offers to do her report for her since Haruka is already late for a shoot.
Ami confides to Yukiho once again about Haruka’s harmonizing results and this time her numbers are dropping far below where they should be. Yukiho tells Ami that she’s been warning Haruka, but she really hasn’t. Ami wants to discuss it with the director and Yukiho volunteers to help again, telling her that she will give the report to the director. However, as soon as Ami leaves, Yukiho deletes the report, saying “it’s almost time”.
After she spends some time with Haruka, I think Yukiho is experiencing some guilt. Even with her busy schedule, Haruka wants to make Christmas Eve twice as special for Yukiho because it’s also her birthday. I don’t think Yukiho really ever had a birthday or very many friends for that matter. Saku begins to question his staff about mainframe security and finds out that Yukiho got password access. But why does he only say that “perhaps” he should do something?
They are decorating the dorm for Christmas and of course Yayoi is there to spread her own type of cheer – wearing a reindeer suit this time and bickering with Iori. Apparently they both still believe in Santa! Ritsuko tells Haruka that Yukiho had some work to do at the base, but should be back in time for the party.
Yukiho is at the base and Saku manages to get on the elevator with her. They chat and Saku tells her that the mainframe’s password was leaked to the outside, so now he has to scramble to get all the passwords changed. They seem to dance around each other and pump one another for information. Saku tries to catch Yukiho in a lie, but is unsuccessful – she’s just too smart for him! And even though Yukiho must realize that Saku suspects something, she still enters command to find Sorewa in the process of changing all the passwords. Yukiho hands her a data chip, asking her to give it to Naze. I wonder if it’s some kind of virus.
Meanwhile, Turiavita is having a little trouble of its own. The scientists are questioning the mass production of the Epi units. Their goal was to save all of humanity and the recent acts were supposed to get Mondenkind to negotiate with them in order to save the future. Karasu tells them that things are going according to plan just before he has all the scientists shot. I’m positive that “Mother” is just a figurehead at this point and that Karasu is running the show according to his own plan.
Haruka goes to pick up Yukiho, too anxious to await her return at home. At an internet café, Yukiho says that there’s no going back and hits the enter key. Sorewa receives a warning alarm on her console, but it turns off just as quickly. Saku is in his office and is told that the system was recovered. Now, instead of playing cat and mouse, he should have confronted Yukiho when he had the chance.
Yukiho thinks that it’s over now and she can return to her real home. But it seems that she also has another attack of guilt before realizing that her precious charm is missing. She panics, but hearing Haruka’s voice, she turns to find Haruka holding her charm and is reminded of the first time they met. Haruka was worried that she might have missed Yukiho, but is glad she didn’t. Yukiho is trying to think of a way to get away, while Haruka is praising her and wondering what she’d ever do without her dear friend.
It suddenly hits Yukiho that Haruka really is her friend and she doesn’t want to leave her. Haruka holds out her hand, saying that they should go back together. It begins to snow and Yukiho remembers another hand reaching out to her in her past – a hand that belongs to Chihaya! And when Haruka turns back from admiring the snowfall, Yukiho is nowhere to be seen. It was sad when Haruka called for her.
Saku is informed that the computer Yukiho used at the internet café has been confiscated and that they are on the hunt for Yukiho, but he still doesn’t like the situation. Back at command, Sorewa gives Naze the chip Yukiho left for her. She inserts it and enters her new password. Something activates in the mainframe and I think they’ve just been hacked. As the maintenance team knocks off early for Christmas Eve, Ami hears a noise. Haruka returns home to find that Yukiho never came back, just as Ritsuko announces an emergency at the base. An angry Saku receives a message on his computer, saying that there will be a zero percent chance of Drops – but what does this mean?