Guilty/Story

Spoilers!*"Your greatest villain Drake shall warn you, SPOILERS AHEAD!"*The following article or section contain **spoilers!** Viewer discretion is advised.

Overview**Story**VoicelinesGallery

## Information

### Affiliation

Real Kindness
Rehabilitation Center

## Behind the Scenes

###

Lee Bo-hee

###

Brittany Lauda

###

Rina Sato

## Profile

A Nikke from Real Kindness, a "squad" formed of criminals kept in the Rehabilitation Center. Possessing physical strength far beyond most, Guilty was incarcerated for heavily damaging more than 40 allied Nikkes in 2 weeks with just her bare hands. Guilty may seem quiet and demure at first glance, but there is a reason her handling advisories warn to **never** remove her restraints, no matter how much she whines or guilt-trips about it.

### Nikke Backstory

A Nikke subordinate of the Real Kindness Squad. Possesses incredible strength.
Detained in the Rehabilitation Center for causing severe bodily damage to over 40 Nikkes within 2 weeks.

## Story

### Liberation / Character Story

#### Episode 1 - Not Guilty?

*Rehabilitation Day 1*

Mana welcomes the protagonist as the newest counselor of the Rehabilitation Center, noting his choice in counseling Guilty. She asks if he chose Guilty because he believed there was no risk of physical harm, then advises him to keep his guard up anyway. Of the many counselors that tried to reform Guilty, 10 of them were hospitalized with compound fractures following interaction with her. Mana believes Guilty played up a harmless front so that counselors would get careless and loosen the restraints despite being explicitly told not to. Mana reiterates to never remove Guilty's restraints, and if anything happens, there's a bell to summon a guard team to restrain the Nikke. Mana then opens the door, wishing the protagonist good luck.

Inside the room, Guilty sits without saying anything. The protagonist makes the first move, and when prompted, introduces himself as her new counselor. Guilty is surprised she'd get another counselor after what happened to the last one. Her insistence on doing nothing wrong intrigues the protagonist, and she explains that the Missilis scientists were the ones who made her like this. She finds it unfair to be locked up like a criminal for touching things while just being stronger than others, while the scientists who made her that way get to go free. The protagonist stares into Guilty's eyes as he answers her questions, an ac that makes her avert her gaze before glancing back. She asks if he means what he says, then mutters that he's not on her side yet.

Guilty asks what the protagonist's plan is, then clarifies that since they'll be spending time together for the counseling sessions, he has to have some idea of what he's going to do. He responds that he want to know what Guilty herself wants to do, a question that takes her by surprise. A moment of eye-contact once again leads Guilty to shy away briefly, before she reiterates that she doesn't believe he's on her side. She bemoans about being stuck in this stifling place, which she clarifies is her space in the solitary confinement wing. The protagonist asks how she ended up in solitary confinement, which she answers.

The last person Guilty interacted with insisted they could handle her strength. So she got a bit excited and touched them, but ended up breaking them instead before getting locked in solitary. Both she and the protagonist agree she underestimated her strength, leading him to decide they're going to have her learn to regulate her power. The idea is something Guilty finds impossible, believing she was born this way and nothing can change that. She starts calling the protagonist a liar and refuses to listen to him, not even believing his declaration that he'll come back later. The protagonists simply insists he'll be back and exits the room.

#### Episode 2 - Guilty Power

Back at the Outpost, the protagonist is stuffing dumbbells into a bag. Counters first wonders what he's doing with so many dumbbells, the questions why he;s bringing them to the Rehabilitation Center. Anis sardonically marvels at how much work the protagonist is being saddled with, counseling criminals on top of his commander duties. Rapi is concerned with the protagonist's ability to even lift the bag, which turns out to be no.

*Rehabilitation Day 2*

The protagonist meets up with Guilty, who's surprised he's back after what happened last time. The protagonist explains his plan to help Guilty control her strength, a prospect she immediately dismisses as impossible, but she still tries to grab a dumbbell at his request. She crushes it so hard it's little more than dust in her hands. At the protagonist's insistence, Guilty continues to pick up increasingly bigger and heavier dumbbells, only for each one to meet a similar fate.

One hour and several more dumbbells later, Guilty is figuratively throwing her hands in the air, declaring this a futile endeavor. Even with the protagonist's persistence and one more dumbbell, Guilty requests they do something else. That "something else" is asking the protagonist why he's so intent on rehabilitating her. He tries to explain his motives, but then Guilty questions if he's seen the recordings the Center took of the incident that got her into solitary confinement. The protagonist has not seen the footage, which turns out to be the wrong answer, as Guilty remarks he doesn't truly know her and further withdraws from the conversation. Sensing no further progress will be made today, the protagonist calls it a session and leaves.

Back at the Outpost, the protagonist is contacting Shifty for access to the recordings of the incident. The operator is reluctant to do so, believing seeing the footage might compromise the protagonist's willingness to counsel Guilty, but relents when he insists on it. Rehabilitation Center security feeds are heavily classified, so it might take some time for her to send them. As Shifty signs off, the protagonist thinks back to what Guilty said, how he didn't really know her without seeing just what happened before she was locked in solitary.

#### Episode 3 - Do I Trust Her?

Eventually, the footage is sent to the protagonist from Shifty, and he plays it back.

In the recording, a prisoner is talking to Guilty, playing up her strength as a way to for them to break free of the prison. The prisoner talks a big game about Guilty not being, well, guilty of the crimes that got her locked up, but the Nikke then insists on holding the prisoner's hands as a show of good faith. The prisoner tries to pull back, insisting on Guilty doing nothing wrong even as he makes excuses to not be in her reach.

In a moment, Guilty suddenly breaks loose of her restraints and rushes towards the prisoner. She grabs him in an embrace as she mutters about how he lied to her, pretending to get in her good graces so she'd do whatever he wanted her to do. The man pleads for help as the sound of his bones crunching becomes all-too audible. Guilty raves about becoming innocent as she grips the prisoner harder and harder, the footage cutting out as the crunching noises become unnervingly *wet-sounding*. The protagonist has no words for what he just witnessed

*Rehabilitation Day 3*

A crack echoes in the counseling room as Guilty smashes yet another dumbbell. She questions the protagonist on the point of doing this, but he remains silent and unresponsive. The sound of the crushed dumbbell clattering to the floor jolts the protagonist out of his lull. Sensing his preoccupation, Guilty decides that if his mind is going to be elsewhere, he shouldn't be bothering her with this training nonsense. The protagonist thinks back to the footage, and the sound of Guilty's restraints ripping apart. He looks towards his counselee and sees the restraints still intact, then questions whether her strength is truly uncontrollable. Guilty insists it's true, and deduces these questions are because the protagonist has finally seen the footage.

Guilty questions the protagonist if he still thinks she did nothing wrong, then asks him to loosen her restraints as a show of good faith. As the protagonist continues to talk, Guilty gets more and more worked up, wondering why he hasn't reacted like all the others, screaming, running away, or calling security. Her pressure continues to mount, alongside her confusion. With a ripping sound, Guilty breaks her restraints again and grabs the protagonist's arms. She asks him if he still thinks she did nothing wrong, and the protagonist loses consciousness as snapping sounds report from his arms.

#### Episode 4 - No More Guilty

The protagonist awakens in a hospital bed, Rapi looking over him. Rapi explains that he was sent right to the ER after his latest counseling session. Mary also walks into the room, having been the one to treat the protagonist after he was brought in. The protagonist thanks Mary for her help, then asks how badly his arms have been affected.

Mary explains that the arms have been swollen ever since he arrived, but fortunately only one of them was fractured. As Rapi asks how this came to be, the protagonist thinks back to Guilty's last words;

*"You weren't like this before. You seemed more genuine than the others. Now I'm not so sure myself. I want you to prove it."*

The protagonist's mutterings about trust confuse Rapi, but he moves on, asking how long he's been hospitalized, which by Mary's report is a few days. Rapi tells him that he should probably give up on Guilty, if not this entire rehabilitation mission of his. He refuses, and declares he's returning to the Rehabilitation Center

*Rehabilitation Day 4*

The protagonist greets Guilty, who's in disbelief that he'd return even after she broke his arm. He insists on helping her control his strength, which she finds both futile and confusing, as she can't get a read on the protagonist. She can't even tell if he's scared or not, which is normal for most of the counselors after she broke their arms. The protagonist declares his intent to release the restraints, and does so with the push of a button.

The straps tying Guilty's wrists fall away. Guilty herself can't believe this is happening, but all the protagonist can think of is why only the wrist restraints were released. Guilty briefly explains that it's because she broke his arm, but quickly turns to him and moves on, asking why he's doing this. The protagonist affirms his resolve to see Guilty rehabilitated, and announces a continuation of the strength control training. Guilty bemoans yet more training, until the protagonist introduces a twist; there will be no props or objects used.

The protagonist hugs Guilty and takes her hand. Guilty herself is both shocked and elated, reluctant to grab his hand and hurt him again. The protagonist tells Guilty he trusts her, and grips her hand tighter to prove it. Guilty trembles in confusion and trepidation, unfamiliar with holding someone's hand and unwilling to risk breaking his. Eventually, she agrees and puts her hand on his, so lightly he can't feel any pressure. At his insistence, Guilty grips a little tighter, but just that is enough to make him grunt in pain. She tries to pull back, but he grips her hand even tighter in response.

The protagonist congratulates Guilty on holding someone's hand without breaking it, an event that's left her almost speechless. She finds her words again, asking if the protagonist thinks she's done nothing wrong. He remarks that even accounting for context and intention, the fact is that Guilty hurt people, and that's a bad thing to do. But he still believes she can be rehabilitated and brought out of the Center. Guilty herself seems intoxicated by the protagonist, looking into her eyes, hugging her, holding her hand. At the protagonist's questioning, Guilty affirms that she wants to believe in him, and his belief she can control herself and be rehabilitated. At those affirmations, the protagonist lets go, asking her to prove it.

The protagonist tells Guilty not to use her strength as a way to hurt others, or as a way to test the trust of other people. But he does promise her one thing. If she can be rehabilitated and get out of the Center, she can hold his hand anytime for as long as she wants. She agrees, so long as he keeps that promise, awaiting the day she can hold his hand, feeling the warmth in both his eyes and his touch.

#### Episode 5 - Guilty Pleasure

Mana congratulates the protagonist, as both the Center's staff and the Central Government audits have turned up no incidents on Guilty's record since the last counseling, even when they released her restraints. Combined with a drive for self-improvement shown even after leaving solitary, lead to the conclusion that Guilty has been fully rehabilitated, and can leave the Center a (mostly) free Nikke.

Mana thanks the protagonist for continuing with the counseling even after suffering a broken arm, while the protagonist thanks her back for allowing the counseling to continue. Mana elaborates that she was planning to cancel the consultation altogether if the protagonist failed to show up even one day, citing parties who believed rehabilitation would be impossible. Mana personally sees Guilty leaving the Center as a benefit to Ark security, given how Guilty's strength and wit could have been put to use to stage a prison break. She then asks the protagonist what he thinks was the determinant factor in Guilty's rehabilitation, then accepts his answer as something the differentiates him from the previous counselors.

It's not all good news however. Mana explains that once out of the Center, Guilty is now the protagonist's responsibility. If she cause trouble, or even gets locked in the Center again, for any reason, it'll be on his head. Ergo, Mana's recommendation is that the protagonist keep the momentum in talking with Guilty and forming a rapport with her. Her piece said, Mana lets the protagonist go to his final counseling session. Mana briefly reminds the protagonist that Guilty is a...

*Final day of Rehabilitation*

Guilty is all-too-happy to see the protagonist again, especially after she's been approved for release. She tells him everything she did, from not breaking things to even holding back when the guards got on her nerves. All so that she could do a little something she was promised. The protagonist remembers, which delights Guilty as if he forgot, she would've know he was lying to her.

The protagonist wraps Guilty in a hug and holds her hand. She basks in the warmth, pondering how it only feels nice when it's with him. She wonders what would happen if he became afraid of her, if he'd back away from her touch, and grasps both his hands to determine if he's lying.

In response, the protagonist tightens his grip on her hands, affirming his claim that he'll trust her, and she'll trust him back. Guilty savors the feeling of holding his hands, calling it the best thing she's ever felt. So far.

The protagonist thinks back to Mana's reminder that Guilty is a vicious criminal. Guilty notices something and asks the protagonist what's wrong. He asks what she would do if she lied to him or found something better to hold than his hands. Guilty seemingly goes on a tangent, pondering hypotheticals like breaking his hands so no one else can hold them, or strangling him. She then veers course again, assuring that she's an upstanding, fully-rehabilitated Nikke who can be by his side.

Though she does ask if he wants an honest answer to his question. When he ponders if he truly does, her only response is a smile...

## References

Notes

References