In order to save Satoko from being infected, Rika offers herself as a test subject for Irie and Takano's research, since Rika's status as a "Queen Carrier" and its suppression of the syndrome allows the drugs to be derived from her blood. Takano prepares a plan to cover up the gassing of Hinamizawa residents as a natural disaster. Oishi tells Irie that Satoko inadvertently killed her parents by pushing them off the cliff near the dam. While Rika was at the Institution, her parents objected to the continued use of Rika as a subject, and thus Takano utilized the curse to cover up the death of Rika's parents that year. The clinic faces closure since treatments had been developed by Irie to combat the syndrome, despite Takano's wishes to continue research for the sake of her late grandfather. Takano meets Nomura who claims that she can help her attain the goal.