Q&A

*“Disclaimer!”*This article contains **HEAVILY-EDITED** machine translation. Please do not take it as an exact or official translation.

In this Q&A, “Kuro” will be referred to as “Tsugino" and “Aka” will be referred to as “Maeno.”

Additionally, translator notes will look like this: (TL/N: xxx)

* **What was it about Dr. Ushirono's behavior (toward the patients) that drew so much attention from the people in that facility?**
	+ He cursed the patients out very badly regardless of the fact that everyone was watching.
	+ He would immediately propose human experiments, and if they failed, he would throw them away like garbage.
	+ He kills patients, and when he does, he doesn't feel anything (he treats it as an experiment failure).
	+ The patients were afraid that they would die if he was in charge of them.

* **Please tell me about the educational background and club activities of the three students. If you could also tell us about their grades in each subject, we will stop drooling.**
	+ *Tsugino*
		- Elementary school: He couldn't attend class enough, so his grades were low
		- Junior high school student: Much better
			* Club activities: Kendo
		- High school student: Not the top of his grade, but in the top 20 or so. He was particularly good at English. He was also good at physical education and was often pulled along as a helper in club activities (\*Physical ability increases when you have ZENO)
			* Club activities: Kendo, student council president
	+ *Maeno*
		- Elementary school: He didn't take tests because they were too easy and it was a hassle
		- Junior high school student: He just got good scores on tests, going off of the theory that "good scores are good enough.”
			* Club activities: Going home
		- High school student: Always slept, but scored very well. He only completed about half of the test because he got bored and left early. He was good at math and science, but not at reading Japanese, and he hated music and art (because he didn't understand them). He also skipped all PE, so his grades are bad.
			* Club activities: Returning home club
	+ *Fuyu*
		- Elementary school: All 5 (TL/N: Original text is “オール5.” This basically means he got Straight A’s because most pre-university Japanese schools have a numerical grading system, with 5 being the highest and 1 being the lowest)
		- Junior high school student: All 5
			* Club activities: Flower arrangement
		- High school student: Almost all 5 (TL/N: Original text is “ほぼオール5”, so his grades were near-perfect), no gaps. If he had to say, he’s not very good at art. He was called the prince of the school, but he was desperate to surpass Maeno and was not interested in girls, so he sped through the whole process. He was almost asked to be the captain of the archery team, but it didn't happen in the end because he is not very social. He is good at it, though.
			* Club Activities: Kyudo (TL/N: archery), tea ceremony, and flower arrangement)

* **How was Tsugino perceived by those around him (classmates and neighbors)? (From elementary school to high school)**
	+ In elementary school: He was bullied because of his reclusive and reserved personality, and also because of his clothes, other belongings, and the fact that he was neglected. He was basically ignored by his neighbors, and realized what he had been looking for when he saw the Natsu scene and was finally comforted. (Age 12)
	+ In junior high school: Although he lost his memories of the trauma, he begins to act "perfect" in an attempt to get his parents to acknowledge his existence. At this time, he begins to be liked by the people around him and is even recognized by his neighbors. Also, his parents softened their attitude toward him. His piercings are done by a Yankee who he was friends with and had a somewhat Maeno-like personality. He loved him, but was not satisfied. It was his first murder. (TL/N: You can read their story in “The Name of Greed”, also found on this Wiki). People around him gradually began to wonder if he was killing people. Rumors started to circulate.
	+ High school student: He enrolled in an advanced school in Tokyo, and his parents had no choice but to admit that he was a good student. His classmates, both male and female, knew him for his kindness and gentle nature. He was also the envy of his classmates because he was the student council president and was active in his clubs. He was also popular with his neighbors, especially the wife and sister across the street. After Tsugino was arrested, the house was put up for auction, but it has yet to be sold.

* **Please tell me what kind of bias you have in your knowledge of Maeno. (Besides not knowing anything about Shakespeare.)**
	+ He simply can't remember, but he is inherently knowledgeable.
	+ When he was a student, he started reading books about things such as surgery, internal medicine, psychiatry, and other scientific knowledge (he loves experiments) that his parents left behind. He started reading comics and story novels when he became an adult (after he came to the facility). When he was a student, he said he would read all the books in the house and stayed indoors during summer vacation. He has a strong thirst for knowledge that was discovered by Fuyu and was carried by an ambulance due to dehydration and malnutrition, and is basically not interested in other people (he does find "therapy" interesting), and is not really interested in stories (mystery novels are more suitable for him because he can use his brain).
	+ His favorite manga is Golgo 31. (TL/N: The author may just be making a joke or trying to avoid copyright here, but the actual name of the series is “Golgo 13.”)

* **Please tell me whether or not Maeno's parents were foolish, and how much he liked them.**
	+ His parents were very foolish and affectionate. They took him to many places to develop his talent. As a result of taking him to various places, he almost died in a car accident when the car plunged into the sea. He drowned, but his parents saved him; however, because he saw them sink, he is very traumatized by the sea itself and cannot even go to the pool. He also hates baths.
	+ Aki loves his parents and still has strong feelings of regret for them. Perhaps that's why he’s interested in “family.”

* **I'd like to know how Tsugino was able to injure Fuyu so badly that he had to use a blood-boosting drug when Tsugino was supposed to be empty-handed after the handcuffs were cut into pieces.**
	+ Fuyu dragged him to his room (thus unlocking the door in the process), then Tsugino caught Fuyu by surprise and knocked him out.
	+ I apologize for the confusing foreshadowing, but Fuyu was originally injured. (The bloodstains on the 4th floor are foreshadowing. Also, the blood in the toilet is half his own blood). Therefore, I think Tsugino was able to easily knock him out because he had the physical lead and was superior in calmness. As he was being taken away by Fuyu, Tsugino also thought, "Wouldn't it be easier to kill Maeno by taking him by surprise and bluffing?” So he pretended to be sane.
	+ In terms of direction, I thought it would be more interesting to have "Tsugino is in danger!” instead of "Tsugino is dangerous!”
	+ Side note… Tsugino slept in the lowest level for a couple of days, but Fuyu had developed the disease, so he was wandering from top to bottom, eating meat, and fighting with other sick people.

* **Why is Maeno wearing such shoulder-baring clothes? Is it a hobby?**
	+ He’s wearing a hand-me-down tee that Fuyu gave him once upon a time (Fuyu: I gave it to him because I was suspicious of him wearing the same clothes every day). It's all stretched out. Fuyu pointed out that it was stretched out, so Maeno started wearing stuff under it.
	+ He only has a few other personal clothes because it's too much trouble to buy all of them, and he wears the same ones three or four times a week. In addition, when he woke up after losing his memory, he was worried about his t-shirt slipping down. He tried to lift it up several times, but it wouldn’t stay on his shoulder, so he gave up.

* **In your opinion, which True Route story is the real one?**
	+ B-end, I'd like to say… but if it's the True Route, it's the D-end. I like the fact that it is neither happy nor unhappy, and it maintains an equilibrium (even though I made it myself). I can't decide which one is the best overall because I have feelings for all of them…
	+ I started making ZENO to make the B-end, so other than for the True Route, the B-end is my favorite.

* **How do you say/read “Tsugino”?**
	+ You can call it Tsugino or Tsuguno, but I call it Tsugino (“next”) because he is next in line after Maeno (“previous”).
	+ The name "Ushirono" is "behind.” I tried pairing his name with Maeno and Tsugino.

* **How long has Fuyu been growing that long hair on either side of his head?**
	+ About two years, ever since he found out that Natsu had been killed by Maeno and came to the facility. He’s unconsciously imitating Natsu. He cuts the hair in the back by himself.

* **Please tell me the favorite and least favorite foods of Tsugino, Maeno, and Fuyu.**
	+ *Tsugino*
		- Likes: Edible things. Dislikes: Rotten things.
		- He is the type of person who doesn't say extravagantly whether he likes or dislikes something. If he may say so, he feels happy with freshly cooked rice.
		- He can't eat bento boxes that have expired because he feels disgusted by them.
		- Recently, he’s been receiving a lot of Japanese sweets from Maeno, so he’s gradually becoming a Japanese sweets person.
	+ *Maeno*
		- Likes: Karintou (TL/N: A sweet, deep-fried Japanese snack). Dislikes: Some vegetables
		- He likes Japanese sweets and eats them often. He likes most snacks and foods that children like (ramen, omurice, hamburger steak, etc.).
		- He is a picky eater and doesn't like vegetables (especially broccoli), but in the D and E end of the story, he is forced to eat vegetables by Tsugino because Maeno had been avoiding vegetables by making and eating his own food.
		- When he’s a doctor, he has candy in his pocket, but he leaves it in there and forgets about it so it’s usually close to its expiration date.
	+ *Fuyu*
		- Likes: Spicy food. Dislikes: Sweet food.
		- He’s a spice person, partly because his taste buds have gone crazy since he got ZENO and he can't taste anything unless it's spicy. He puts shichimi (TL/N: A common seven-ingredient Japanese spice) or chili paste on everything. He has never been a big fan of eating. He does not like sweets.

* **Fuyu saves Natsu in the F-end, but what happened to Natsu after that?**
	+ After Fuyu saved her, Natsu fell asleep again inside Maeno. (A little bit of Fuyu’s consciousness remained there as a corpse.) "Fuyu's death" was the cause of the improvement for Natsu’s ZENO.
	+ However, since Maeno committed suicide, Natsu and Fuyu's consciousness disappeared with him.
	+ That ending may have been a personal revenge, but it may also have been a way to let them go. I believe that this is the case, but I'll leave it to each of you to think about it.

* **Are there individual differences in ZENO? (For example, some kill impulsively, some plan to kill, etc.) If so, what are the characteristics of Tsugino, Maeno, and Fuyu's ZENO?**
	+ There are individual differences.
	+ It is common across the board to want to kill + want to eat meat, but there are individual differences in the range in which you can control the urge to kill. Other than that, the method of killing is a mixture of each individual's "likes" and "wants.”
	+ *Tsugino*
		- Very planned. He deliberately goes to a distant place and takes his time to select a target. On the day he meets them, he decides whether they will love him or not, kills them, and eats them. He kills people he thinks will "love" him.
	+ *Maeno*
		- Impulsive planning. He takes his time to kill because he is interested in watching people struggle and suffer when they die. He wants to kill people he likes or whose reactions seem interesting.
	+ *Fuyu*
		- Impulsive and kills everything in sight. He is a man of sorrows, or rather, a man of desperation who gives in to the urge to kill. However, his priority is Maeno > others. He can't wait to kill Maeno.
	+ (Sorry if this is a bit out of line with the question)

* **How did Maeno get locked up in the ZENO facility after eating Natsu, and how did he go from being a "patient" to a "researcher"?**

* He was sent to the current ZENO facility from 1942 to 1945, ostensibly missing but treated as dead on the family register. After being sent to experiments and tests as a patient for about a year, it was judged that he was completely cured, and he has been working as a researcher since 1943. (Effectively, he’s under house arrest.)
* He was doing much better after working as a researcher and interacting with patients, as well as rehabilitating from the trauma of eating Natsu. After four years, Tsugino came to see him.

I also drew some doodles earlier ↓ (TL/N: click on the image to enlarge)

* **How much does having ZENO improve your physical abilities?**
	+ Overall strength increases, but it is mainly used to kill and eat (it's very hard to eat a person with just your jaws). Mainly arm strength and jaw strength. The durability of your nails may also increase. (If you polish them, will they be able to cut reasonably well?)
	+ Specifically, your arm strength will increase to the point where you can rip off your opponent's arm or bite it off.
	+ Also, some people's personal interests will increase, so some people's intellect will increase, and some people's leg strength will increase.
	+ For Tsugino, it's a general increase, but for Fuyu, it's mainly in the parameters of his arms and legs (his intellect seems to have regressed). For Maeno, it's his curiosity and a little bit of his strength.

* **Has Natsu killed or eaten anyone since she developed ZENO?**
	+ No, she has not eaten or killed anyone. She was found out when she attacked a maid in the house shortly after the onset of the disease (the maid was seriously injured), and was confined to the house. Fuyu and Maeno couldn’t stand to see that happen, so they started researching ZENO, but that's another story.

* **Please let me know if Tsugino, Maeno, and Fuyu have any habits (such as biting their nails when anxious).**
	+ *Tsugino*
		- He scratches his cheeks or puts his hands around his neck.
	+ *Maeno*
		- He fiddles with his nails.
	+ *Fuyu*
		- He crosses his arms.

* **Why isn't Fuyu wearing anything under his yellow coat?**
	+ Fuyu himself doesn't remember, but he took them off when he got excited around the same time Maeno's memories were removed
	+ When he woke up, he also wondered why he wasn’t wearing anything. He thought, "What? I usually wear a Y-shirt (TL/N: The original text is “Yシャツ”. It’s basically a formal button-down shirt) or something inside.”

(↓ Fuyu’s face at the time of Maeno’s death)