At around eleven fifty-eight, Ren Sawamura had just finished watching episode nineteen of Code Geass season two. He reached for a tissue and dabbed his eyes, a heavy feeling sitting in his chest that he could not shake.
"Why did it end up like this?"
"I'd been wanting Rolo to die for ages."
"So why am I crying now that he actually did?"
"This makes no sense!"
When Shirley was killed, a massive number of fans turned their anger on Rolo, and Ren was one of them.
By all logic, Rolo dying should have felt like a victory.
But after finishing episode nineteen, he could not find even a trace of satisfaction anywhere inside him.
It was all Yuta Shido's fault.
He was the one who made episode nineteen hurt this much.
Ren stood up, turned off the TV, went to his computer, sat down, and posted a comment online: "I genuinely hated Rolo because of what happened to Shirley, but after tonight... I don't really know how I feel anymore."
In fact, the moment episode nineteen finished airing, the internet lit up with people talking about it:
"Honestly, I still don't love Rolo as a character, but after this episode, I suddenly feel kind of bad for him."
"I actually cried watching this one. I can't believe it."
"Yuta Shido really is the king of emotional devastation."
"People were calling him a killer of heroines just a few days ago, but it's clearly not limited to heroines."
"First Euphemia, then Shirley, then Nunnally, and now Rolo. Has he completely lost it?"
"He told everyone at the start that this show would be exciting and fun. After a show this brutal, that is unforgivable."
"If I could go back in time, I would never believe a single word out of Yuta Shido's mouth again."
Rolo fan community group chat.
Late at night, the members were anything but quiet:
"I've been crying my eyes out."
"That's not okay, Shido-sensei. What kind of person kills off my Rolo? He went way too far."
"I never should have started watching this show. I wouldn't have shed nearly this many tears."
"Exactly. Whoever recommended this show to me, I haven't forgotten. I'm so done."
"Wait, did someone just leave the group?"
"It was her! The one who got us all into Code Geass in the first place!"
"She left?! I had so many things I wanted to say to her!"
As for how brutal episode nineteen actually was, that depended on who you asked. For Rolo fans it was absolutely devastating, but for most viewers the overwhelming feeling was probably one of being deeply moved rather than wrecked.
Even so, more than a few people found themselves lying awake that night, unable to sleep.
Yuta, the man being called every name in the book, slept just as soundly as ever.
The next morning, Aoi showed up.
In the president's office at Starfall.
Aoi poured herself a glass of water, made herself comfortable in a chair, and said without preamble, "Good thing I left the group chat when I did. Otherwise I'd probably have a lot of people looking for me to have a little chat."
"What do you mean?" Yuta had no idea what she had been up to behind the scenes, so the comment caught him off guard.
"Never mind." Aoi shook her head slightly and left it at that.
Yuta did not press her on it.
He was scrolling through comments online when he muttered, "Animation production really is incredibly hard."
"Is it? I'd think it would be fine for someone like you," Aoi said, puzzled.
Yuta did not answer directly. Instead, he asked, "What did you think of episode nineteen last night, Aoi?"
"It was great," she replied without hesitation. "Very moving."
"And yet the people calling me names haven't gone down at all. There are actually more of them now." He spread his hands helplessly.
Aoi frowned. "Hm?"
Yuta let out a sigh. "First they were all pushing me to kill Rolo off. Now that Rolo is dead, they're blaming me for making episode nineteen too emotional. Either way, somehow it's always my fault. So yeah, animation production really is hard."
Aoi found herself at a complete loss for words.
Yuta was only venting a little, though. In reality, he was not taking it too seriously.
He browsed for a bit longer, then closed the browser, got up, poured himself a glass of water, and sat down across from Aoi.
"So what's next for promotion?"
Aoi asked first, "Are any more characters going to die in the upcoming episodes?"
"Standard promotional push should be fine. Nobody around the main character will die."
Yuta found the scripts and storyboards for episodes twenty and twenty-one from the stack of documents on his desk and handed them to Aoi for her to look over herself.
Aoi set down her glass, took the materials, and read through them carefully.
Nobody around the main character would die, that much was true. But the story that followed was, if anything, even more painful, because the next arc was the revenge arc, and within it, Lelouch would discover that his mother's death was far more complicated than he had ever allowed himself to imagine.
She read to the end in silence, let out a long breath, set the papers down, and said, "I think you've depressed me too."
"Are you joking, Aoi?"
"I mean it."
"..."
"You're as relentless as ever, aren't you."
"Is this my fault too?"
Yuta looked genuinely put-upon.
Aoi was quiet for a moment, then dropped the subject and said instead, "There are only a few episodes left. You must be getting close to having some breathing room."
"There's no such thing as breathing room, but it shouldn't be as hectic as it's been," Yuta replied.
Aoi looked at him as though she wanted to say something, then thought better of it.
Yuta noticed, but did not ask. He just said, "Actually, I've already started thinking about the next project."
"What are you planning to do?" Aoi asked immediately.
"Still working it out, so I won't say just yet. But it might turn out to be a nice surprise for you, Aoi."
"A surprise?" Aoi looked puzzled.
Yuta just smiled and stayed quiet.
Aoi thought for a moment, then guessed, "Are you going to do something about chasing dreams?"
Yuta blinked. "Why would you think that?"
"Wouldn't that be the kind of thing that counts as a surprise for me?" she answered.
"If I were going to do something about dreams, I'd probably make a show specifically about the animation industry itself. I'd call it Shirobako. But that would most likely be my final TV anime. So no, the next one is something else."
"So it's not about chasing dreams?"
"Right, it isn't."
"Then what is it?"
"You'll find out eventually. And like I said, I'm still working through it. By the time Code Geass wraps up I should have it figured out. I'll tell you then."
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